


Final Exam

by Agent66



Series: War of the Worlds [4]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Episode s01e38: The Test, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Mission Fic, Romance, Team Bonding, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-11-15 17:46:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11236056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agent66/pseuds/Agent66
Summary: Connie's skills are put to the test as she goes to prove herself a Crystal Gem.





	1. Prologue - The Final Countdown

**Author's Note:**

> Hello once again, internet readers! We're back with story #4 in our [War of the Worlds serial](http://archiveofourown.org/series/724287) and our first multiple chapter fic! While you could skirt around not having read the previous three stories in this, you might find it easier to read story #2 - [Warrior 13](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11026086) \- as the beginning picks up from a scene mentioned in that story.
> 
> As always, you should be familiar up to this point with the show, starting from season 1 all through season 4, but for this particular fic, you should be familiar with the episode The Test. 
> 
> As always, thanks to everyone who's been reading up to now, for all the kudos, and bookmarks. I'm hoping we can get to the nitty gritty before season 5 officially restarts, so stay tuned!

 

 

**Prologue – The Final Countdown**

 

 

_One Month Ago_

The party was still going strong, with a game of volleyball starting in the background with the Pizzas vs Buck Dewey, Sadie Miller, and Onion, while the others were either dancing or swaying to the hip beats coming from Sour Cream. Peridot and Lapis had surveyed the strange ritual known as a ‘birthday party’ from one of the tables that had been set up on the beach, mostly enjoying the event, but still confused as to why humans celebrated the passage of time, especially when it was a signal towards their imminent demise.

Connie had been sitting with her parents, trying to explain some of the strange behavior exhibited by Lapis, Peridot, and Onion. The former was easy to explain – they were still new to Earth, even if they had officially thrown in their lot with the Crystal Gems – while the latter was a bit more…difficult. Connie didn’t really know Onion that well, other than he was probably the youngest participant at the party, he was Sour Cream’s half-brother, and he hung out with Steven.

To be honest, Connie herself had been surprised by the turn out. Her parents had assumed that the majority of people were there because of _Steven_ , but as Connie began to speak about each person, she surprised herself in the knowledge that not only did she actually know these people, but that they had actually come out to see _her_ , to celebrate _her_ growing from pre-teen to official teenager (if one considered thirteen as the official start of the teen years).

That had been evident by the gifts she had received – Buck had given her ‘ ** _The Tale of the Essex_** ’, not just because she enjoyed anything that utilized the written word, but because she enjoyed learning about maritime history. The discussion about man versus nature and philosophy had surprised her parents, who wondered how the mayor’s son even knew who their daughter was.

Sour Cream and Onion had used their creative talents to present Connie artistic endeavors that not only reflected the two individually, but managed to provide how well they knew the young girl. The gift, up to that point, that surprised Connie the most was the meep morp Lapis and Peridot had created for her. After their disastrous turn at trying to protect Beach City, Connie was nearly convinced they would probably never be left in charge of anything that wasn’t higher than…maybe housesitting (and she wasn’t even sure about that).

She had been sure the two wouldn’t want to have anything to do with her anymore and truth be told, the three of them hadn’t really had any interactions together since. So the fact that they had even considered to come to her party, much less created a gift for her was incredibly heartwarming.

The young teen couldn’t imagine how the night could’ve gotten any better.

And then Pearl approached her.

Connie had noticed the Gems standing off to the side at one point, but hadn’t given it any thought – they did tend to keep to themselves, even if they were trying to be more social in the present for Steven’s sake.

“I’m sorry to disturb you,” Pearl replied, stepping up next to the young girl. “Connie, we’d like to speak with you for a moment, if you don’t mind.”

“Uh,” she stumbled, standing up quickly. “Sure.” Turning to her parents, she said, “I’ll be right back.”

“Take your time,” Priyanka said, sending a smile towards her daughter. “This is for you, after all.”

Connie returned the smile before following the lithe gem over to the side, a little ways from the grill where Greg was starting to put away food. She noticed him finishing up before taking her place at her parents’ table, engaging both of them into a conversation about music and how it would never be the same as when they were this age. Soon, Connie found herself in the little circle of the Crystal Gems – Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven - she wasn’t sure what Pearl had wanted to discuss, but it was clear she wouldn’t be the only one discussing it with her.

For a brief moment, Connie panicked – perhaps her fears were coming true. She already had two strikes against her, first with her inability to face a corrupted gem without freezing up and therefore, putting not only Steven’s life in danger, but Pearl’s too and then again when she had failed to work with two gems who they probably considered more Crystal Gem than she was.

This was it, this was the moment where they would either tell her she only had one mission to make up her failures or she couldn’t go on _any_ missions anymore. She’d be lucky if Pearl even still wanted to train her or worse, that the gems would even let her see Steven from here on out.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Garnet replied, as soon as she and Pearl walked up.

“No worries,” the teen chuckled, nervously. “What’s going on?”

For all of her worries, Connie couldn’t help but notice Steven’s excitement – her best friend was barely suppressing the urge to bounce as he stood, grinning happily at her. She wasn’t the only one to notice either; Amethyst delivered a sisterly punch to his arm, laughing as she did. “Calm down or you’ll give it away!”

“Quite right,” Pearl admonished, though like her fellow gems, she was smiling. That had to be a good sign, right? “I’m sorry we didn’t speak to you earlier, but we wanted to make sure you were enjoying yourself. You _are_ enjoying yourself, aren’t you?”

“Of course!” Connie exclaimed. “I never would have imagined _anything_ like this!”

“Glad you’re enjoying yourself,” Garnet said. “We’ll let you get back to it, but we thought we should give you our birthday present.”

“But…” Connie began, a little confused. “I thought _this_ was my present?”

“Oh, this was _Steven’s_ present,” Amethyst said, elbowing the young hybrid in the ribs and causing him to blush. “We were just around to assist.”

“You may not know this, Connie,” Pearl interrupted. “But Garnet and I have been speaking about your progress of late and we’re very impressed by the skills you’ve shown. That’s why we’d like to officially ask if you’d like to join us as a Crystal Gem.”

Connie was speechless. Of all the things she had thought they would tell her, this had never entered her mind. “Do you mean it?” she whispered, eyes wide in excitement.

“Duh!” Amethyst exclaimed. “We wouldn’t play you like that, Con-Air. Of course we mean it!”

“It won’t be easy though,” Garnet replied, her serious tone belying the smile on her face. “You’ll have to take the initiate test. It tests all the skills you’ve learned so far in common elements you’ll come across when fighting against corrupted monsters. It also helps to hone your skills when in the field.”

“We’re thinking of conducting the test after you’re let out of school,” Pearl continued. “And with your parents’ permission, of course. That is, if this is something you want.”

“Are you kidding!?” Connie exclaimed. Was this something she wanted? It was the _only_ thing she wanted, probably what she had _always_ wanted for forever. There were no words to begin to describe how happy she was, how happy this whole thing made her. She thought they were going to oust her back into the lonely little world she had come from before meeting Steven, but instead, they wanted to make her inclusion official.

In an instant, Connie had wrapped her arms around Pearl in a tight hug, causing her to stumble into the tall fusion that stood behind her. Connie was fairly sure she had said thank you, over and over again, even as she felt Steven join their hug by hugging her.

And then she felt the push from Amethyst no doubt jumping on Steven to add to what was becoming a massive group hug.

And then she heard Pearl and Garnet telling Lion to stop and suddenly, they were all tumbled on top of each other.

Which only made Connie laugh harder.


	2. Chapter I - The Final Exam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie is given her final exam instructions and proceeds. Doug and Priyanka are given a rare glimpse into the Crystal Gems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found a few interesting concept arts regarding to how the US is laid out in SU. I decided to go with this [map](http://psychodemonfox.deviantart.com/art/Steven-Universe-America-633161262) for Priyanka and thus the Maheswarans' previous residences.

 

 

**Chapter I – The Final Exam**

 

 

_One month later_

School had been out for officially two weeks and Connie was ready to take her test, her final exam as it were, to continue doing missions and to become an official member of the Crystal Gems.

Her parents, on the other hand, weren’t as excited.

Since their encounter with the gem experiments, Connie had kept her promise to tell her parents about the ‘magical adventures’ she was now undertaking with Steven Universe and his magical Gem family. That had led them to allowing her to accompany Pearl and Steven on her very first mission and, in an effort to keep to that promise, Connie had told her parents everything – from fighting against two corrupted gems to their eventual confrontation with Jasper.

Though her parents had been happy about their _daughter’s_ excitement, learning what a mission actually entailed suddenly changed how _they_ actually wanted to approach these magical missions. Even more so when Connie announced that she wasn’t going to go to summer school that year, instead she was planning on accompanying Steven on even _more_ adventures.

Doug and Priyanka wanted to be supportive, they really did – Doug held Connie’s love of adventure, action, and the mystical. It was one of the reasons he had decided to become a security guard in the first place and while he himself never encountered anything out of the ordinary on the job, he did have a secretly held hope that maybe he’d get assigned to Beach City on a night where craziness went down.

Priyanka wanted what was best for her daughter and that meant getting an education and obtaining knowledge. She was already wary about the type of education young Steven Universe had achieved – which was only heightened when she learned that his father had dropped out of school – and while she wanted Connie to find and make her own way, the doctor was certain that meant going to school and achieving an education.

The doctor was the one that took the news about summer school the hardest – she couldn’t help it; Priyanka thought Connie was giving up her future by not furthering her education. The discussion wasn’t helped when Connie brought up an unknown gem, someone they had heard mentioned at her party, but didn’t go into detail about it. Luckily, Doug managed to calm himself before he said something he would regret, calling a time out between his two stubborn ladies.

Their newly minted teenage daughter was well aware that her parents were calling the shots on this – they could easily say no to this test and insist she take the required classes to get ahead of the upcoming school year. Doug and Priyanka were also well aware that if they did exactly that, Connie would go back to never telling them anything again.

So they discussed it – it wasn’t so much Connie getting behind in her studies; she had shown she could handle both school and magical missions, to the point where Doug was starting to worry that maybe Connie was taking on _too_ much. No, it was the obvious and apparent danger these missions held. As a medical doctor, Priyanka had seen many things come across her, both in standard practice and as the emergency room attending physician.

She would never forget those horrible…things that had trapped her, her daughter, and Steven within the halls of the hospital. In hindsight, perhaps she should have recognized the strangeness of the patients – no noticeable or outward human physiology, no recognizable traits that signaled these beings as being human – but at this point in her career, she had seen even _stranger_ things.

Like the case of Cassie Wilmington, a patient she assisted with when she had done a brief stint at a hospital in upstate New England. Cassie’s car had gotten stuck in the snow one night and, afraid she would freeze to death if she stayed in the car, she ventured out towards a friend’s house which was about two miles away. In 22 degrees below zero, Cassie didn’t last against the elements – she ended up collapsing in the snow, right at the end of her friend’s driveway.

After six hours on the ground and in freezing temperatures, her friend discovered her outside – frozen solid. To Priyanka, it seemed clear cut – everything they tried had no effect due to her body being completely frozen; it was though they were trying to revive a block of ice. The only thing they could do was to place warm blankets and pads around the body to raise the temperature.

Priyanka didn’t believe in miracles, but she couldn’t deny that something…divine was looking out for Cassie. Hours later, the young woman began to move, requesting water to drink. Soon afterwards, not only was she able to move, but she was discharged after two months in complete health – no irreparable damage, no amputations, no lasting medical issues.

Then there was the case of Maria Flores, the ‘noxious niña’ as the papers called her, a woman who had entered the Empire City Medical Center emergency room in cardiac distress before going into cardiac arrest. Priya was just starting her night as the attending physician when Maria came in and she had assumed things would be how they usually were in the ER, but just as Cassie Wilmington had proved, sometimes medical cases are never straight forward.

Working on Maria, her ER staff noticed a foul odor coming from the woman and that she seemed to be coated in an oily sheen. Once staff members noticed the odor, they began to drop like flies, Priya being one of those flies. In the end, seven ER personnel members had been affected and the chief surgeon, Dr. Humberto, had evacuated all of the patients and staff, fearing this was a case of toxic contamination.

They wouldn’t discover the actual case of Maria’s death or the affect it had on everyone around until two years later; by then, the Maheswarans were in the midst of unpacking their belongings in their new home in Charm City, but a colleague of Priya’s had informed her that the suspect had been using DMSO, a common drug to help relieve various aches and pains that were associated with arthritis. When Priya and her staff began to work on Flores, their efforts turned the DMSO into DMSO-4, a toxic agent usually found within bio-weapons and had the potential to cause death.

Being a part of two extraordinary medical cases should have taught Priyanka to accept the unacceptable, but it only furthered her journey to learn more, educate herself on the mysteries of the medical world, and to ensure that her own children could differentiate between fantasy and reality.

And she was having a hard time trying to understand why Connie was putting magic over realism, danger over education.

So, she had a counteroffer – they would let Connie participate with this ‘test’ the Gems wanted to give her and they would allow her to partake in any gem missions, however, Doug and Priyanka wanted to see this test being performed. They were already leery, but they wanted to be supportive and that meant they wanted to see this new world she was a part of.

And that’s how the three Maheswarans found themselves within the beach house home of one Steven Universe on a Tuesday morning.

Connie was already dressed in her training attire, excitedly carrying her normal duffel bag that held her clothing and of course, the sword of Rose Quartz. Despite Steven giving it to her a year ago, Connie didn’t feel as though it was truly her sword; it was such a large part of who Rose Quartz was, it felt strange to call it hers. Instead, Connie felt it was her duty to uphold the legacy of Rose and the Crystal Gems.

When Doug and Priyanka entered the Universe home, they were surprised to the elder musician already seated on the couch and fiddling with an old television. “Hey y’all,” he greeted as they walked in the door. “We’ve got snacks in the kitchen.”

“Thanks, Mr. Universe,” Connie replied, walking quickly inside and laying her equipment on the small couch table in front of the couch. “What’re you doing?”

Greg stood from his position with a slight groan, that turned into a chuckle. “I don’t remember bending over being such as a pain,” he said. Gesturing to the Temple door, he told Connie, “The others are finishing up some things, but they should be out in…”

Before the elder Universe had finished, the door to the Temple opened, allowing the original members of the Crystal Gems to leave and enter into the house proper. “Ah Connie!” Pearl exclaimed, seeing her student ready to start her day. “Prompt and early, as always.”

Connie quickly grabbed the scabbard that housed the Quartz sword and stood before her teacher. “Yes ma’am,” she replied, suppressing the huge smile that threatened to explode on her face. “I’m ready for my test.”

“Excellent,” Pearl said, nodding to the girl. “Oh! Dr. and Mr. Maheswaran, good morning. I hope we haven’t inconvenienced you for the day; I know you both are very busy with your places of employment during this time.”

Priyanka was a little stunned at the greeting, though she recovered quickly. “Good morning to you as well,” she replied. “And no inconvenience. We wanted to make sure we were here for Connie, so we both called for a day off.”

“Well,” the lithe gem said, looking down at Connie. “I’m sure you’ll see that Connie’s skills have certainly exceeded our expectations.” The pride in Pearl’s voice was unmistakable and Priyanka wasn’t sure how to feel about that – on one hand, it wasn’t uncommon to hear teachers and instructors praise her daughter’s talents and intelligence. On the other hand, however, the good doctor could not recall ever seeing Connie standing so tall when given the praise, her confidence clearly showing.

Using her gem to project a hologram of the exam’s structure, Pearl explained, “We’ve adjusted the metaphysical properties of the temple to create a specialized dungeon for you. Within the dungeon are five chambers, each designed to simulate the challenge of being in the field during a mission.”

The elder Maheswarans watched in fascination as the gem was able to create a hologram from the gem perched on her forehead; a complete third dimensional structure, that showed a line of five cubes lined next to each other. Each cube had a different shading of color, differentiating themselves from each other.

“You are of course allowed to use Rose’s sword and any other tool within the environment to order to survive. Once you complete one chamber, you will unlock the door that will lead you into the next. Should you succeed, you will unlock the final door.”

“Excuse me.”

All eyes turned to Priyanka, who kept her composure despite now being on the spot. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said. “And while I know this is just a test, but what are the odds of Connie actually getting hurt in one of these ‘chambers’?”

“Mom,” Connie hissed. Could she _be_ any more embarrassing?

“Don’t worry, Dr. Maheswaran,” Steven piped up. “Connie has everything under control.”

The larger gem – Garnet – stepped forward, placing a hand on the younger girl’s shoulder. “It’s natural to worry,” she replied. “But you have nothing to fear. Connie knows how to handle herself.”

For some reason, that felt like a two-pronged given advice. One for her parents to go all in with their support and trust, but also one for Connie herself; she was prone to second guess her choices and decisions sometimes or in the case of those corrupted gems in the Great North, freeze and panic in what she should do. If anyone thought she could do this, it was certainly Garnet.

Looking up at her, Connie noticed the fusion was already looking down at her.

Straightening her spine, she nodded. “I'm ready,” she said. “I won’t let you guys down.”

“You got this, Big C!”

“Let’s do this thing!” added Steven, hugging Connie tightly. His whispered, “I know you can do this” only made her blush intensify, but also strengthened her resolve. The whole reason she had wanted to train in the first place was to protect Steven and help protect the Earth. They had given her the opportunity to fight alongside them and now, she was given the chance to prove that all of her training wasn’t for naught.   

The four gems turned towards the door of the Temple.

Doug and Priya were in a special position not afforded to many humans, in or around Beach City. Unlike Greg Universe, who was used to most gem rituals and artifacts or at least recognized what a gem artifact was, the Maheswarans had never seen the inner machinations of gem culture or even this part of the beach house. The two watched as first Garnet, then Pearl, Amethyst, and finally Steven used their gems to light up the similar icons that resided in the five-pointed star on the door.

What they didn’t know was that this was the first time all of those star gems had been lit in several decades – the absence of Rose Quartz had seemingly suggested the top gem would never light up again, however Steven’s own gem allowed the door and thus his mother’s room to be available to him, though with less than ideal consequences.

After the five gems lit up on the door, it opened, revealing a darkened corridor.

“Once you go in, you can only get out on the other side.”

“Amethyst, don’t scare her!”

“You’ll do great, Connie.” Steven gave her a smile. “See you at the end.”

“You bet,” came her reply, along with similar smile. Taking a deep breath, Connie made her way through the door and into the darkened corridor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The two medical cases Priyanka remembers from her early med days are based on actual events: Cassie is based on the case of [Jean Hilliard](https://www.unbelievable-facts.com/2016/10/jean-hilliard.html), who was essentially a block of ice by the time she was found. She was in the hospital for over a month and was released with a clean bill of health.
> 
> Maria is based on Gloria Ramirez, the so-called ['toxic lady'](http://www.gasdetection.com/MDS/m092198.html). Brought into Riverside General Hospital suffering from cardiac arrest, those who attended to her ended up passing out or becoming violently ill within a few moments of being near her. The attending physician not only evacuated the entire ER, but called in the county's decon unit. Her case has been featured in [several documentaries](https://youtu.be/5oNF5o6xCcY) and has been used in several shows, like The X-Files and Law & Order.


	3. Chapter II - Attack of the Drones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie faces her first chamber, while Doug, Priyanka, and Greg get a front row seat.

**Chapter II – Attack of the Drones**

 

Doug and Priyanka watched as their daughter disappeared into the Temple, the door closing behind her. Once it did, however, Garnet nodded to the others, saying “Let’s go” before she opened the door once more and went through it, followed by Amethyst and then Steven.

The younger Universe turned to wave at the Indian couple, a big smile on his face as he did so. That caused Pearl, the last one to enter, to quickly turn to them, almost in surprise. And to be honest, she actually _was_ surprised; she had momentarily forgotten they were even there. “Oh!” she sputtered. “I almost forgot. Steven and I made some snacks for you in the kitchen.”

“Yep,” Greg piped up. Pearl had kinda forgotten he was there, too. “Already let them know.”

“Good,” she sighed, in relief. “Actually, Greg, could you…” She trailed off, but the look she gave him was familiar. It was the look that said she really needed him to take care of a situation she didn’t think she’d fare well in and she had something even bigger to take care.

“No worries,” he chuckled, giving her a smile. If this had been months ago, Greg didn’t think they would have such an easy time of this. There had always been contention between him and the former renegade, especially when Rose was still around, but their trip to Empire City had managed to do what even Rose hadn’t –

Get them to talk to each other, really talk to each other.

And it was a surprisingly heartfelt and much needed talk. They had decades of miscommunications, misunderstandings, and harsh words between them and in the end, they could have helped each other get over the person they love most in the entire world. But better late than never, as some would say. They could never go back – or at least, Greg didn’t think they could, but he knew there was probably some gem tech that would allow it – but it was better to move forward, knowing what they knew now.

Pearl gave him a grateful nod before also disappearing into the Temple.

“It’s just us now,” the former musician replied, turning to look at the couple. “Do you two want anything? Drinks? Snacks?”

Doug shook his head, while Priyanka stated, “No, thank you, Greg. However, I do have a question. I think Doug and I were under the impression that we would able to view Connie during this…test.”

“Oh!” Greg laughed. “Absolutely! Follow me.” He led them over to the couch and the television set up they had discovered him at earlier. The television looked newer, a flat screen opposed to the older TV Steven had been using in the past. The Maheswarans were aware that Greg had come into some royalty money, so seeing a larger, more modern television wasn’t much of a surprise.

They had, of course, discussed how the sudden influx of money could affect a man who could have possibly been a world-wide sensation. To be honest, they had been worried that perhaps the money would go to their heads – unnecessary spending or changes in behavior – but they had been pleasantly surprised to see that Greg was using his newfound wealth responsibly.

The only huge expenditures they had heard about – and now seen – was the classic Dondai, the trip to Empire City, and this television.

“Nice TV, Greg,” Doug said, nodding to the object.

“Thanks,” the former musician replied. He gestured for the two to sit down on the couch, while he turned the television on. “Steven told me that you two wanted to watch Connie in action, so the Gems and I tried to figure out how we could that, but…” Greg fiddled with some of the buttons on the remote control before they were able to see a picture onscreen.

It was set in what appeared to be a swamp, though it was more of a cross between grasslands with a few pools of water scattered about. “Oh wow,” Greg whispered, as he watched the camera move to take in more of the background. “This is better than I was expecting.” Looking over his shoulder, he addressed the Maheswarans.

“We were able to put a couple of cameras in three of Connie’s test areas, so we can watch her progress. Oh, speaking of…”

In the distance, they could see the very teen as she entered in their field of vision. She was looking around the area, seemingly searching for something, and just seemed to be exploring the surroundings.

“Can she hear us?” Doug asked.

“No, sorry,” Greg replied. “We could only figure out visuals at this point, it was a real quick hack job, but it’s not bad at all.”

Again playing with the remote, Greg was able to switch feeds so the camera angle was now closer to Connie. “You mentioned that we’ll only be able to see three rooms,” Priyanka said. “But I thought Pearl stated Connie would be going through _five_ rooms. Is there a reason we’re unable to see the other two rooms?”

Greg tried to figure out how to word his statement into something that didn’t sound like, ‘ _well, two of those rooms are kinda personal and I was requested to not have cameras there_ ’. Rubbing his neck in nervousness, he said, “Well…I’m sure Pearl could explain this better, but I guess the metaphysics or something were giving us some fits. Honestly, I’m surprised we’re getting this clear of a picture.

“Normally, it’s rather hard to get _any_ type of image within the Temple period, so this is actually a treat. Like getting gifts during the winter or something, unexpected but always wanted!”

The couple couldn’t help but laugh at that. Though there were still questions about what the other two mysterious rooms held, the ability to actually see what it was Connie did and would be doing on these missions was equal parts exciting and terrifying.

 

* * *

 

_First Chamber_

Connie realized she had entered her first chamber when darkness gave way to light and she found herself within a grassy marshland. Strangely, she found the ground fairly solid underneath, with no hint of mud or soggy soil. However, as an avid reader of the ‘ _How to Survive_ ’ survival guide books, the teen was well aware that solid ground could easily give way to mud, sink holes, or even quicksand at any moment, especially when you least expected it.

The explorer in her wanted to do just that – explore. She knew that, while Steven’s home in itself was rather moderately sized, one could easily forget that there was an entire temple nestled within; and apparently, within _that_ were rooms like _this_. Instinctively, she knew this arena couldn’t go on forever – at some point, there was an actual end, just as there had been a beginning – but the illusion of the space being vast was incredible.

This was only Connie’s second time being within the Temple proper, though the last time was the mishap that happened in what had been Steven’s mother’s room. So she knew that the Temple was able to change the properties of its contents, but she never would have imagined this. This felt as though she was in some other land – unlike Steven’s recreation of _Destiny’s End_ \- she could feel the slight breeze in the air, feel the wet ground under her, and see into the distance.

The teen decided to move forward, excited to test the limits of this chamber. She couldn’t lie – she knew she would have a ton of questions in regard to how the Temple was able to create such an environment that felt real to the human senses, but not actually be real. Despite knowing Steven and the Gems for nearly two years, Connie was still awed by the things they could do.

Especially when they wanted her to be a part of it.

As she continued forward, she could hear the sounds of murmured speaking, so she knew she was on the right track. And that track only got confirmed the further she walked, when she came upon a tall wall of water. The sight of it caused Connie to abruptly halt in her steps, memories of approaching a similar wall assaulting her senses and heightened her fear.

The last time she had seen this type of blockade, she was helping to try to retrieve the ocean back from Lapis Lazuli. It had been her first, official introduction to a gem mission and all the dangers they entailed – Lapis had tried to kill them, nearly drowning her within a water bubble; the fact that, nearly two years later, the water gem had no recollection of it tweaked Connie something fierce.

How does someone not remember trying to kill someone _else_?

She would have to resolve those issues later, because as she came closer, the mumbled sounds she had heard earlier were now getting louder until she heard the unmistakable, “Halt interloper! You shall go no further!”

Looking up, Connie could see the figures of Lapis Lazuli and Peridot, standing atop of the wall of water, looking menacingly down at her. “Is that so?” the teen asked, grinning up at them. To be honest, she hadn’t expected Lapis and Peridot to be there, but in hindsight it made sense, seeing as Pearl _did_ state she would need to go through _five_ different chambers and there were only _four_ Crystal Gems who lived in the beach house.

Connie half wondered if this ‘test’ would similar to the one Steven faced, where nothing could really hurt him and where his wasn’t the only one whose confidence rested on the outcome of that test. In fact, upon seeing her two fellow Crystal Temps, Connie was convinced that nothing would actually happen to her.

That is until something came out from the water wall. It resembled a blob at first, but it soon began to take the form, with features confirming and contorting until something formed completely; it actually reminded Connie of her father’s favorite sci-fi movie _Transforminator 2: Day of Judgment_ and why it fascinated her as a child. However, it rather terrified her now.

Because that being shape – the shape of a _human_ being - was _her_.

It was a perfect water version of her, right down to the fit of her training gi and the cut of the Rose Quartz Sword. The same one she quickly grabbed with her left hand. A slight buzzing sound began to grow from the distance before coming closer and causing Connie to look up overhead.

In perfect formation were four small round, green drones that hovered in the air, lowering themselves to surround her watery clone.

“Prepare for your doom, Connie!” Peridot shouted down. “You’re no match for the combined might of my attack drones or Lapis’ water manipulation!”

“You aren’t going anywhere,” Lapis replied, sending a smile down to the teen.

 

* * *

 

For many parents, summer meant adjusting their work schedules in order to be around for their newly liberated children. In some cases, kids would experience their first exposure to summer camp or other summertime activities, while others might invest in the future by gaining the credits needed to start or complete an upcoming year in school. Some families used this time to take vacations, while others decided on a fresh start in a new place.

If someone had told Doug and Priyanka Maheswaran that they would be spending the start of their summer watching their daughter fight against attack drones and a magical water clone of herself, Doug would have tried to talk the person down, while Priya would have used her connections and gotten that person the best mental health provider she could. Because if this had been last summer or _any_ of the summers before, they would have told you that not only was that impossible, but that you needed to seek medical help.

Their daughter was a responsible young lady who took her studies seriously and certainly didn’t have time nor the patience to indulge in half-hearted, and obviously wildly concocted, fantasies.

And then she met Steven Universe.

For better or worse – and right now, both Doug and Priyanka were leaning heavily on _worse_ – the introduction of Steven and his magical gem family had completely upended everything they knew about life, history, and their very own daughter. Case in point, the two sat and watched as their young daughter was faced with four attack drones and a clone of herself made from a giant wall of water.

While Greg, and admittedly Doug as well, saw a strong, confident, and fierce warrior on a strange battlefield, Priya saw her precious baby facing down five terrible monsters. “Is that fair?” she whispered, her voice slightly shaking as the drones began to fire some sort of laser or energy beams at the girl. “There’s five of them and only one Connie.”

Surprisingly, it was Doug’s hand she felt pat her on the knee. “The Gems feel this is something Connie might encounter,” he said, softly. “Isn’t it better for her to face a few hard things than to enter into something she isn’t prepared for?”

He knew he was right and he could see Priya knew he was right, but it didn’t necessarily loosen the way his heart felt in his throat, especially when the water clone managed to force Connie on to the ground. Luckily, the teen rolled to her right, missing the downwards blow and was even able to counter a shot from one of the drones, using her sword to reflect it back and blowing it up.

“Connie’s faced tougher things than this before,” Greg piped up. “And that was _before_ Pearl started training her.”

Doug and Priya looked at each other before looking at Greg. “What do you mean, ‘before Pearl started training her’?” Priya asked, wincing as Connie took out two other drones with a single swipe of her sword.

“When we faced Lapis the first time,” the musician said, turning to look at them in confusion. “When we went to get the ocean back? Cause she was using it as a giant tower to get to…Connie’s never mentioned this?”

“No,” Priya hissed, her eyes narrowed.

“Pri,” Doug whispered, his hand giving her knee a squeeze before he took a clenched fist in his hand. “You can’t expect Connie to spill every single adventure…” The look she gave him said, yes, actually she _did_ expect Connie to tell them about every single time she had placed herself in danger for a strange magical boy.

“You heard Greg,” he amended. “It sounds like this was well before we reached a compromise with her. But yes, we’ll need to sit down with Connie and find out just how long this has been going on.”

“There’s also that _other_ matter,” she muttered.

“Well,” Doug replied. “She did say we’d hopefully get our answers here.”

Greg wondered what the two were discussing, but knew well enough that it was obviously something they needed to discuss with Connie herself. He hoped he hadn’t gotten her into trouble; he’d known as much the idea of her parents disapproving of her friendship with his son could throw her into a panic and he really wished he had kept his mouth shut.

Maybe he could smooth things over before she finished; this was an opportunity to show the Indian couple that, while nerve-racking on the worse of days, their daughter was in the best company possible.

Though with the way the two were clutching at each other, he hoped he could actually convince them of that.

 

* * *

 

Connie’s adrenaline was going.

After a shaky start where she had nearly gotten herself cleaved in half by her water clone, the teen’s wits and training finally kicked in. And that was it – this was similar to the training Pearl put her through every week; after Stevonnie’s encounter with Jasper, Pearl had kicked up the level of the holo-Pearls and had even started combining her training with Stevonnie’s.

She had managed to knock out three of her opponents so far, but Peridot and Lapis weren’t letting her win that easy. Where or how the smaller gem managed to get a hold of metal shards she didn’t know, but it was a question she should probably ask once she got out of here. At some point, it had dawned on Connie that this portion of the exam was as much for them as it was for her –

The three had already shown they had a shaky alliance and if Connie had learned anything from the various books and television shows she loved, the team needed to be a cohesive unit in order to work efficiently and effectively together. Steven had told her what happened when Amethyst and Pearl butted heads, as well as the time Garnet literally fell apart after a betrayal by Pearl.

It threw them all off balance.

And the three members had been a team for thousands of years, not counting the number of years Garnet and Pearl had worked and fought together.

So it made sense that, for any possible new member, they would need to be able to work well together, especially under pressure. Connie had shown she and Steven could easily overcome their fears with the other’s help and she had shown to be able to work effectively with Amethyst and Pearl.

Where she failed was with Lapis and Peridot.

But even the two barnmates, despite their closeness, had failed to work together too, thanks to ego and pettiness. And adding Connie into the mix only reinforced the perceived ‘us against them’ mentality. If the Crystal Temps were to ever be left alone in Beach City again, they would need to work together and to work together effectively, they should probably see how the others fought.

Hence pitting them against each other.

Connie sincerely hoped what Steven said was true – that nothing in here could _really_ hurt her and that the gems in charge of these chambers would put her to the test, so to speak, without maiming her. Defending herself against Peridot’s drones and Lapis’ water clone was starting to make her doubt that a little.

Amethyst once told her that her fighting style came from her gut, listening to what it was telling to do and she did it. Connie tended to strategize, much in the same way Pearl did, and play out scenarios in her mind. While that worked in theory, sometimes it didn’t always work in practice and Connie was discovering more and more that being able to be smart and flexible were the keys to success.

As a gamer, Connie knew the first thing to keeping your party alive was to hit all of the main boss’ minions first, that way you only had to concentrate on the boss, effectively putting most of the work into beating them. That strategy was working her favor here – she only had to deal with one of Peridot’s drones and then she could concentrate on her water clone.

However, these two were doing a good job of working together, even if it hadn’t seemed like they were. That’s when Connie’s gut kicked in – seeing the drone starting to release another energy beam, the teen rolled to her left, allowing her to also miss the attack that was coming from her clone. The green beam of light shot at her, but Connie used the sword to block it, causing it to ricochet off and shoot through Water Connie. Swinging the sword to the right, she sliced through the torso of the clone before pivoting around the clone to face the drone.

Using the sword as a flat edged bat, Connie swung as hard as she could, launching the drone into the clone of herself. The impact caused the clone to finally dissipate, while also short circuiting the drone. In the end, all that was left was a large puddle and several broken drones.

With her opponents defeated, the water wall collapsed, shrinking back into the earth, while the test’s overlords floated down to greet her – or rather, Peridot floated down with help from Lapis. The three stood and looked at the lasting remains of Water Connie and her drones.

“I didn’t think you could do that,” Lapis replied.

“I wasn’t sure it was going to work,” Connie said, shrugging. Glancing at Peridot, she said, “Sorry about your drones.”

Peridot answered with a shrug of her own. “Eh,” she said. “They were just prototypes. This was actually a good way to test out my designs. I was using them to watch over the barn, but I didn’t believe they were very effective.”

“Are you kidding?” the teen asked. “They shot lasers at me! I haven’t had that happen since the time Steven and I faced off against the laser shooty thing!”

“Laser shooty thing?” asked Lapis.

“So you found the design efficient?” Peridot asked, timidly.

She would never admit it, but there were times Peridot worried about her contributions to both the Crystal Gems and the Crystal Temps. Back when she had her limb enhancers, she was powerful; now, she was very small and only had her metal powers to compensate. And while she was more in control of those powers, she still felt underpowered when compared with Lapis or Amethyst or even Connie.

They had weapons and she…didn’t. But she did have her intelligence and that intelligence meant she could create and engineer weapons if need be.

She hoped.

This had been a test of that very thing – not only was she testing her attack drones in battle, but the human Greg had asked if those very same drones could broadcast the happenings within the test for Connie’s parental units. She had hoped the drones would be worthy opponents for the teen, but watching her cut them down in quick succession made her wonder.

“It was perfect, Peridot,” Connie reassured her, causing a smile to grow on the smaller gem’s face.

“Great,” Lapis retorted, rolling her eyes. “Now I’ll never hear the end of this.”

“Hey!”

“Sorry Lapis,” Connie giggled. “But sometimes you just have to praise genius when you see it.”

“Wow. Thanks, Connie.” Peridot cleared her throat, before pointing to the distance. “If you continue your trajectory, you’ll be able to reach the door. That will lead you to the next chamber.”

“Any idea of what I should expect?”

“None,” Lapis replied. “But I bet you’ll encounter Steven next. It would make sense.”

“Would it?” Peridot asked, not understanding the look Lapis was giving Connie nor why the teen’s cheeks were suddenly reddening. “I think the most optimal approach would be to engage in battle with Amethyst. I feel she would make quick work of the battle. No offense to you, Connie. As we’ve seen, you’ll certainly be able to hold your own.

“I’m just saying Amethyst will most likely go for the most efficient way to fighting you.”

As defeatist as that sounded, it actually did make sense; from a Peridot point of view. Amethyst would absolutely try to end the fight quickly, which would probably leave more time for Connie to fight her way through Steven, Garnet, and Pearl.

Connie nodded and started forward, ready to tackle the next chamber. She only halted when she heard Lapis call her name, turning so she could look at the water gem.

“Nice job.”

Connie knew this wouldn’t be the last time she might receive praise, but coming from Lapis Lazuli, it was praise she never thought she would get. And certainly, she and Peridot gave as good as they got.

“You too,” she said, smiling. “Both of you.”


	4. Chapter III - An Evening with Gems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie has an enlightening evening with gems.

 

**Chapter III – An Evening with Gems**

 

_Second Chamber_

Entering into the second chamber, Connie was met with a lush green scenery. As with the previous chamber, Connie could see and feel the wind as it breezed through the air, causing the grass to sway and around her were tall trees that stood against the picturesque landscape. She could hear the sounds of a stream nearby and, remembering the few times her father had taken her camping, Connie decided to follow it.

She had only gone a few yards when she came across a small camp site, though it seemed more to be a site of just two gems sitting around and chatting with each other. Seeing two gems, at this point for the teen, wasn’t that extraordinary, however seeing _these_ two specific gems _was_. One of the gems was sitting serenely on the ground, hands folded primly in her lap as she spoke with the gem who was still standing.

The gem seated on the ground was blue in color, with shoulder length hair that was a light blue than her appearance and bangs that cover the upper most portion of her face. Her companion was opposite in color, a dark red with a square shaped afro tied slightly back with a matching headband. The two obviously had an easy rapport, laughing together over something said.

Connie could easily find herself perfectly happy at standing there and watching the two interact with each other. It’s not that Connie didn’t know who the gems were – she has a pretty good guess – it’s the fact that they were _here_ , during her test. Especially when she had been expecting well… _someone else_.

“Hey kiddo!”

“Hello Connie.”

Hearing the two greetings finally caused the teen to snap out of her stupor, but it did nothing to snap her out of her own confusion. “Ruby?” she asked. “Sapphire? Is something wrong?”

“No,” Ruby replied, raising a slim eyebrow at the girl. “Why would you think that?”

“Probably because it’s a rare event when we unfuse,” Sapphire answered.

“And because you two only unfuse in the direst of situations,” Connie added.

“Why does everyone assume something must be wrong if we unfuse?”

“Because usually something _is_ wrong,” the teen stated.

“Not always!” the red gem retorted.

“Most of the time,” Sapphire replied.

Ruby shot her partner a look. “Don’t add,” she grumbled, taking a seat next to her.

“Is this part of my test?” Connie asked, still confused as to why Ruby and Sapphire would be here in place of Garnet.

“What?” Ruby grinned. “You think going on missions is all about fighting off corrupted gems and finding remnants of Homeworld technology? I mean, it is, but sometimes you just gotta sit around and wait for something to happen. Not that anything is gonna happen! We just wanted to sit around.” Gesturing to their surroundings, she asked, “Like it?”

Shaking herself from her surprise, the teen made her way over to the couple and took a seat on the ground across from them. “It’s incredible,” she whispered in awe. “How did you ever come up with all this?”

“Simple,” Ruby smirked. “Sapphire’s a hopeless romantic.”

“Said the pot,” the seer retorted. “I felt this was a better location for a proper introduction than say, somewhere that’s a hundred degrees.”

“I said _eighty-six_ degrees,” Ruby countered. “Eighty-six degrees is a perfectly reasonable temperature, thank you very much.”

“I’ll let you continue thinking that,” the blue gem smirked and while it was hard to tell due to her bangs, Ruby was well aware that Sapphire was giving her a sly look. “You weren’t expecting to see us here.”

Connie giggled, shaking her head to Sapphire’s statement. “You’re right, I wasn’t,” she admitted. “Though I think I’m more surprised at how much you sounded like my parents just now.”

The two gems laughed at that. “That’s probably the nicest thing I’ve heard in a few hundred years,” Ruby said.

“The pleasure’s ours,” Sapphire said.

“What?” asked Connie.

“You were about to say that it was your pleasure to meet us,” the seer amended. “But the pleasure is ours. Hence why we thought this was the best way for us to introduce ourselves. As you said, some of our recent meetings have not been under the…best of situations.”

“Still,” Connie gushed. “It is definitely a pleasure.” Bowing at the waist slightly, she continued with, “It is truly an honor.”

“Of course,” Ruby said. “Besides, you’re a Crystal Gem too. You were gonna meet us at some point.”

“Well,” Connie replied, blushing. “I hope to be. I mean, that’s the whole point of this. So I can be.”

Ruby smirked. “This?” she asked. “This is a formality. You’ve been a Crystal Gem for months now, probably longer. Garnet and Pearl finally just got around to doing something official once everything calmed down. If anything, this was more for Lapis and Peridot.”

“Ruby, don’t tease.”

“Who’s teasing?”

“What I’m sure Ruby means to say,” Sapphire replied. “Is that, despite the formality, this is a…what would you call it? Rite of passage? This is something all members of the Crystal Gems go through – Steven, Amethyst, even us.”

“Wanna hear a campfire story?” Ruby asked, excitedly.

“Would I!?”

If she was honest, Connie knew she could lose herself in listening to Ruby and Sapphire tell stories all day long. Sapphire’s even tone matched with Ruby’s exuberant retellings made each little snippet feel as though she was watching a live show being put on for her benefit. And it was just one story, though one with many parts, on how Ruby and Sapphire had to prove themselves, on top of proving that Garnet could be an asset within the current rebellion and ultimately, the upcoming war.

Most of the stories about the Gems Connie got from Steven and sometimes those stories were filtered through the adoring eyes of her best friend. This felt like an additional birthday gift to hear a story she wasn’t even sure _Steven_ knew about, something that was just for _her_.

Sadly, Connie was there for a reason and unfortunately, it wasn’t to hear tales from two of the original Crystal Gems. “We should let Connie continue her test,” Sapphire stated, earning groans of disappointment from both Ruby and Connie. Turning to look at the teen however, the seer cocked her head to the side.

“Unless there’s something you needed to discuss with us.”

“What?” the teen asked, a look of confusion on her face. Suddenly, the one discussion she _did_ want to have seemed rude to even bring up; Ruby and Sapphire had not only given her the honor of unfusing just to meet her, but had even allowed her the pleasure to sit and listen to a few stories from their first initial days as Crystal Gems. Yes, on one hand, this was a great opportunity to ask all the questions she had wanted to ask, but more importantly, it seemed the height of ungratefulness to intrude on such a lovely conversation.

“No!” she exclaimed, shaking her head. “I mean, it’s nothing! Not really and it’s not important or anything…”

Sapphire swept away her bangs, revealing a single blue eye that was now trained on Connie in both concern and possible knowing. “Connie.”

“Something on your mind?” Ruby asked, also giving her a look.

Connie was about to deny anything was the matter, but she stopped when she realized neither gem would believe her. Steven had told her Garnet had future vision, but he hadn’t told her _which_ of her components held that extraordinary power. If she had to guess, Connie would say it was most likely Sapphire.

Sighing, Connie nodded. “There is something I did want to ask…” she whispered. “It’s about Stevonnie.”

“What about Stevonnie?” asked Ruby.

Again sighing, Connie began her tale. She didn’t know how it happened or who said what, but at some point during her birthday, someone had mentioned Stevonnie to her parents. They had of course asked who Stevonnie was and Connie had told them.

And that’s when it all fell apart.

“It wasn’t like I was hiding Stevonnie from them!” she exclaimed. “To be honest, so many things have been going on and with school, I just…I just hadn’t found the time to actually mention them. So I _tried_ to explain fusion and I’m sure I only made it worse and I’m _so_ sorry! I had to mention that Garnet was a fusion and that it was something that gems do all the time, but they didn’t understand anything I said!

“And then Dad went off on this tirade about me being way too young and then Mom started getting out the human body display…”

“Wait,” Ruby said, trying to understand what the girl was telling them. “So…your parents are upset about fusion in general?”

“It’s not about fusion, exactly,” Sapphire replied. Though the small gem herself could only see one stream on the path of fate, millennia of being fused as Garnet had opened those paths to flow into streams, rivers, lakes, and more. It was the reason she and Ruby had unfused in the first place – they had seen Connie would need to speak with them in regard to fusion.

“It’s about who she’s fusing _with_.”

Try as she might, Connie couldn’t stop the blush that appeared on her face. “Which doesn’t mean anything,” she sputtered, nervously. “My Dad’s been weird ever since my birthday party, for no apparent reason! They’re completely coming to conclusions that…that are…totally not at all correct, in any way.”

“Oh yeah, totally,” Ruby replied, sharing a look with Sapphire. “Completely off base, those two.”

“I can’t believe they’re taking this so badly,” Connie muttered, rubbing away the headache that was trying to penetrate her skull. “Is this it? They said they would be more understanding and supportive, but I also said I’d be completely honest with them and I haven’t. What if this the perfect excuse for them to tell me I can’t see you guys again?”

“Connie…” Sapphire started, but was interrupted by the teen’s growing, hysterical rant.

“I knew it!” she continued. “I _knew_ this was too good to be true! My parents are only letting me have one last hurrah and then they’re going to forbid from ever coming over again…”

“Connie…” Ruby tried, but was too overthrown by the rant.

“I’m gonna go back to having no friends and sitting on the beach, watching ships come and go forever! I’ll grow old in the sand and _no one_ is going to think anything about it and just point and say, ‘There’s the crazy old sandy boat lady’ or Homeworld’s going to return and I’ll _never_ be able to keep my promise to Pearl or Steven or…”

“Connie!”

The teen’s musings stopped as she stared at the two gems across from her. “Breathe,” Sapphire replied. Even with her bangs hanging back over her eye, Connie had the distinct impression that the gem was looking at her sternly, though not unkindly. Nodding, she threaded her fingers together and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. It took a few minutes before Connie managed to calm her anxiety and troubled thoughts.

“Don’t worry about your parents, Connie,” Sapphire said. “Ruby and I will speak with them about Stevonnie and fusion in general. You have nothing to fear.”

Connie nodded, sheepishly, embarrassed by her freak out. “Thanks,” she whispered. “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about,” Ruby said, sending a smile to the younger girl. “Well, except for whatever Amethyst is gonna put you through in the next room.”

“How do you know Amethyst is…” Smirking, Connie said, “Right. Future vision.”

“Yeah,” Ruby giggled. “And she told us she wanted to go after Garnet.”

“You just need to continue forward,” Sapphire replied. “The door to the next chamber will open as soon as you step in front of it. You’ll be fine.”

“You got this!”

“Yeah,” Connie said, nodding. Standing, the teen nodded to the two. “Thank you both so much.”

The two smiled at the girl. “Anything for a Crystal Gem,” Ruby said, winking. They watched as the girl rushed off, heading to the next chamber to face off against the purple gem. Despite her fun loving and relaxed manner, Amethyst could be a force to reckon with and whatever idea she had for her chamber would certainly test Connie’s skills.

Turning to her partner, the red gem held out her hand. “Dance with me?”

“Actually,” Sapphire replied, standing and holding out her own hand for Ruby to grab. “Do you mind if we stay unfused for a little while longer?”

“You don’t want to fuse with me?” asked Ruby.

“I always want to fuse with you,” the seer said, giving Ruby’s hand a supportive squeeze. “But we did say we would talk to Connie’s parents.”

“I figured we’d speak to them as Garnet,” Ruby said. “Why? You have something else in mind?”

“A few ideas.”

The red gem chuckled. “Okay then,” she said. “I’ll follow your lead. Just try to keep your affection for me to a minimum. May not be a good idea for you to keep flirting with me while trying to explain that not all fusions are romantic in nature.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused,” Ruby replied. “I know you can’t help yourself.”

Sapphire hummed, though more in amused affection than anything. “I’ll do my best to contain myself.”

“You do that.”

“This is about my temperature remark, isn’t it?”

“I don’t recall.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Few things here:
> 
> The idea of the chamber is two fold - first, it's a head canon that I believe both Ruby and Sapphire have their own rooms in the Temple (hence why they each have a representing gem on the door). Second, in this story, the chamber is a recreation of a recreation of the area Ruby and Sapphire fused into Garnet for the second time in The Answer.
> 
> I'm also convinced that Ruby and Sapphire are an old married couple and banter as such and nothing will change my mind on this.
> 
> Doug's behavior from Warrior 13 is mentioned by Connie, however we've seen some of this in the episode Fusion Cuisine. Connie's meditation technique is from the episode Mindful Education.
> 
> And course, it wouldn't be an episode with Ruby and Sapphire without a character calling out their names whenever they appear (and we'll see this later)


	5. Chapter IV- The Chamber of Doom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie enters a chamber of doom. Meanwhile, Doug and Priyanka don't handle things well. Like, at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was actually going to make the second half another chapter, but realized they actually went better together. Poor Doug and Priya. Just...yeah. Welcome to the world of Steven Universe, kids!

 

**Chapter IV – Chamber of Doom**

 

_Third chamber_

Entering the third chamber once again put Connie in a completely different environment from the previous chambers. This one began with a barely lit tunnel made of rock, with a solid sandy ground under her feet. Along the walls were lit torches that were obviously leading her down the corridor to whatever it was Amethyst had in mind.

Wishing she brought along her survival bag, Connie began to follow the path, taking time only to see if the torches were removable. They weren’t, but it did slam a big mental slap to her brain – randomly pulling out torches without knowing if they were attached to any type of booby trap was careless and sloppy. Standing straight in her spot, Connie cursed herself for not taking a flashlight so she could see better, but suddenly realized that she might not always be so prepared and she needed to rely on her wits and skills.

Her wits told her to tread carefully, which she did, taking her first steps down the corridor. She looked along the walls and the ground, eyes scanning to see if there were any trip wires and thankfully seeing none.

The tunnel wasn’t very long and when it ended, it placed Connie into a deep, rocky cavern. Moving forward, the teen realized she was actually above the cavern, looking down from a rocky cliff. Below her was the cavern proper - a deep, bottomless pit surrounded by a rocky edge; across the pit was a possible rope bridge, which lead up to a strange looking ritual alter. If Connie hadn’t already been aware that this chamber belonged to Amethyst, the statue near the wall gave it away.

It was nearly twenty feet tall, with the image of an angered Amethyst, eyes closed and mouth opened in an apparent war cry; its arms were outstretched to its sides, hands clenched in a fist. Only the upper portion of the gem’s body was shown, while the bottom half was turned into an accompanying rock alter, complete with a large skull that sat prominently in the middle of the rock slab.

And that’s when Connie saw it – a gem seemed to be nestled within the skull’s mouth.

The teen was a little surprised by the discovery – three rooms in and this was the first time she had been presented with the task of retrieving an actual gem. A part of her was a little confused as to why the Gems had waited until now to give her this task, but she quickly dismissed the thought. How many stories had Steven told her about missions that required them to retrieve a gem or an artifact?

Up to now, many of her encounters had been with living, breathing corrupted gems or, in the case of Lapis and Jasper, Homeworld gems. She hadn’t been on a mission to _retrieve_ anything. Certainly, Ruby had been correct – not every mission meant having to face off against corrupted gems. Garnet _had_ stated this was to showcase varying types of missions and what could happen in the field.

Nodding to herself, Connie took a deep breath and began to look around. It was obvious she needed to get down to the alter and retrieve the gem within that skull, but the manner of how to do was still up in the air. Creeping along the rocks, the teen made her way to the right, keeping an eye on her surroundings just to be safe. As she hoped, there seemed to be a dirt path that curved down towards the area she needed to be.

The path was slanted downwards, making the descent more difficult that the teen imagined. However, to her benefit, Connie was good with thinking on her feet and her feet are what she utilized; taking some tentative steps, when her feet began to slip in the dirt, she tilted her body against the motion. This allowed her to slide down the path with ease and with a speed that got her down to the cavern floor quickly.

Stopping would be a little difficult, however Connie bent her knees before leaping in the air, rolling, and landing in a crouch. She continued the momentum by tucking and rolling again before stopping, her right hand providing her end point. Looking up, she saw the path had taken her to the cavern proper, her previous entry now high above her. Standing slowly, she took a moment to look around, surveying the high clay walls and pointed architecture.

She now stood across from the Amethyst statue, which seemed even more ominous from the ground floor than it had when she was looking down. Up close, the rope bridge is less sturdy than she would have imagined, with fraying ends and decaying wooden planks that laid out its boardwalk.

There was something else Connie noticed, something she hadn’t while she had been on the upper lip of the cavern. She could hear whispers all around her, faint, and seemingly unformed by the way of words or sentence structure. To be honest, the whispers were becoming unnerving and - as Connie began to make her way towards the rope bridge and then started across – were becoming louder the further along she walked.

It wasn’t until she was nearly halfway across that she could understand what they were saying.

_Cover your heart_

The teen’s brows furled in confusion. What could that possibly mean? Like a spark of lightning hitting her spine, Connie halted her steps on the bridge. There was something behind her. She could hear the deep breathing that came from behind her and she could feel it on the bridge she stood on; she had done her best to keep the bridge steady as she walked and the fact that it was swaying while she stood still meant something was happening.

Hyperarousal, more commonly known as fight-or-flight, was a physiological response to being in danger; the subject had a choice to either fight off the threat or to flee in hopes of further survival. Depending on the situation, the correct response could either lead to being able to survive and fight another day or a quick – and sometimes painful – death.

Time seemed to slow for the teen, giving her several paths to choose from. If she reached for her sword too quickly and turned, there was a chance she could nick the very ropes that held her aloft above a bottomless pit. However, if she just ran, there was a chance that whatever was behind her could easily catch her before she reached the other side.

Her left hand began to rise, creeping closer to the hilt that was just over her shoulder, while she slowly turned to her right, hoping to get a glimpse of the creature. As soon as her eyes met the creature’s, it roared loudly, pushing Connie’s flight response higher than she had wanted. The creature was large, very large; it was lavender in color, with darker lines of purple and a fluffy mane of hair on its head. Sharp teeth glistened in within the dimly lit cave, with small spots of drool dropping from the tips.

Instantly, the teen dropped her first plan, which was to try and fight the creature on the bridge and instead switched to plan B, which was run like heck and hope she could make it to the other side. Turning back around, Connie put on a burst of speed, running down the planks and hearing her foe follow her as she did. The chase caused the bridge to sway violently, making it hard for either to keep their balance and that was something the teen would use to her advantage.

Removing the sword, Connie slashed at the rungs of the bridge, severing them to her left and leaving a hole within. Next, she slashed downward, cutting the rope and causing the bridge to tilt to the left; the motion managed to knock both of their feet, forcing them to grab the rungs to the right in order to prevent their fall. Using the unorthodox distraction, Connie continued her trek across the bridge, putting some space between her and the beast.

As she moved, she continued slashing at rungs, though alternating between the left and right sides, creating an even bigger sway than merely walking across.

There was only a few yards between Connie and the other side. Taking a literal leap of faith, the teen jumped, drawing her closer to the edge before she ran the rest of the way. As she hoped, the creature was still trying to maintain its balance on the bridge without falling. Then, with sword in hand, Connie cut the ropes that were attached to the wooden posts in the dirt. First the ones on the left and the ones on the right.

The result was the old bridge falling away from its support and taking the purple creature down with it, out from Connie’s sight.

The thought that these chambers couldn’t really harm anyone once again entered Connie’s mind and she sent a slight prayer that she hadn’t actually hurt Amethyst or what she hoped was Amethyst in a shapeshifted form.

Sighing, Connie turned towards the large statue and began to make her way towards getting that gem within the eerie skull. A loud cry stopped her in her tracks however, causing her to turn towards the open pit. The cry become louder as the creature flew up out of the pit, its wings flapping loudly as it landed on the dirt ground in front of the teen.

“You aren’t mad about that…bridge incident, are you?” Connie joked, looking up at the creature. Her answer came in the form of a roar and a swipe that caused her to jump back.

“Okay, you’re still mad.”

Again, the creature swiped at her, but Connie pivoted around the arm and brought down her sword in order to catch its burly arm. The creature pulled back, but it seemed enough to spur the teen on, as she pushed her advantage. Finally, almost to the point of being pushed back over the edge, the creature yelled, “Whoa! Alright I give!” before reducing in size to reveal Amethyst on the ground.

“Are you okay?” asked Connie.

“Super-duper,” the gem chuckled. “Though getting my butt handed to me is not cool.”

Holding out her hand, Connie helped the gem to her feet and was immediately grabbed up in a hug. “Hey!” she giggled. “I still have to get that gem!”

“Such a nerd,” Amethyst joked, but she put the teen down. “Well, go on then. Appease your master, young warrior.”

Smirking, Connie muttered an “Aye, aye, captain” before walking up to the altar. It would have been so easy to just reach out and take the gem, which she noted was a replica of Amethyst’s own, however the teen didn’t read or watch sci-fi for the pure love of the material. She turned and threw a look to the shorter gem.

“What?” Amethyst asked. “After all that, you think I’d lay a booby trap on the gem?” Connie just looked at her, causing her to shrug. “Yeah, you’re right, I did. Hang on.”

Amethyst waved the girl to stand back, while she reached for the gem. It took longer than she anticipated – “Geez! What did I do, glue this thing in?” – but finally after a forceful pull, the gem came free and caused a load of confetti to fall down on her head, covering her from head to toe. The purple gem then turned to the teen, grinning widely.

Connie looked at her in confusion before sighing. “Well, I did cause you to fall into a bottomless pit…”

The purple gem immediately grabbed her up in a tight hug. “Aw, it’s not bottomless,” she chuckled. “I filled it with pudding and hot sauce.”

“Oh my gosh,” Connie laughed. “That is disgusting!”

“Well, hold your breath, cause that’s actually your test!”

“What?” Connie shrieked, though it was more for the fact that Amethyst was twirling her around. “No, Amethyst! No!”

The smaller gem put down the girl before pulling her back out of the hug. “Fine,” she huffed, good naturedly. “You did technically defeat the beast guarding the gem.” Tossing said gem to the teen, she continued with, “And you got the gem. And I covered you in confetti, so my job is totally done.”

“I _am_ covered in confetti,” the teen giggled, trying to remove some of that confetti from her outfit. “So I passed?”

“Like a _boss_ ,” Amethyst crowed. “Don’t even know why Garnet and Pearl insisted on doing this. You’ve been a Crystal Gem for like, forever, even before Peri.”

Connie blushed at the praise.

“Anyway,” the gem replied, throwing her arm around the girl and leading her to a side door. “Through this door you’ll meet your next task, blah blah. My guess is it’s Steven cause I know Pearl has this whole ‘master/student’ thing she wants to put you through.”

Connie nodded. “What do you think Steven might have planned?” she asked.

At this, the gem laughed. “He’s probably gonna take you on that date he’s been meaning to take you on since you two met.”

“Amethyst!”

“Yeah, yeah,” the gem said, pushing the girl forward. “Pretend you aren’t interested. Well, go on then. No need to keep your knight in shining waiting.”

 

* * *

 

 

Back in the beach house, Priyanka and Doug Maheswaran let go of each other slowly. They had clutched each other as they watched their only child battle a beast, in a dark cave, on a rickety bridge. If that wasn’t heart stopping enough, the fact that Connie had nearly killed herself by cutting at the bridge’s support had the two truly question what they let their child into.

“Alright,” Doug said. “That’s enough. I’m stopping this right now.”

“What?” asked Greg.

“We’re stopping this,” the security guard repeated. “Enough is enough. Greg, I need you to go in there and get my daughter.”

“Now, hold on, Doug…”

“No,” Priyanka said, her voice shaky from what she’s seen. “No, Doug is right. This is way more than Connie led us to believe. This is way too dangerous for a child her age, for any child _any_ age and we’re putting a stop to it.”

“Priyanka, Doug, listen…” Greg tried. He had a feeling this might be a little too much for the two – heck, some of the things Steven had told him were too much for _him_ sometimes – but he didn’t they would react like _this_.

Okay, there was a very high chance they would react _exactly_ like this.

“I know this can be a lot to take in…”

“No,” Doug stressed, standing as he did. “This…we are putting a stop to this right now.”

“This is our child, Greg,” Priyanka whispered, staring hard at the former musician. “Our _only_ child. How do you sit by and let these…these magical _beings_ do this to your only son?”

“Hey,” Greg said, sternly. It was one thing to be worried, but something completely when bringing into question how he and the gems raised his son. “Regards of whatever happens, never doubt that I and the Gems _love_ Steven and would never put him in harm’s way.”

“But this is the type of thing they do, isn’t it?” asked Doug, frantically. He was pacing in front of the coffee table, back and forth, hands waving in the air. “These missions are similar to what Connie’s been doing all morning, right? Connie told us he’s faced corrupted monsters and didn’t he just come back from space? Space, Greg! Humans spent decades trying to reach the moon and Steven’s been to another galaxy in the span of week!”

“I know,” the musician whispered. “Listen, I get it. Don’t you think I sit and worry about what could happen on a mission? Or when he faces a corrupted gem without the others around? I had to take a nice long drive after that incident with Jasper and the ship from Homeworld. It’s easy to be scared to death knowing my son is out there.

“But I know the Gems and more importantly, I know _Steven_. He’s a smart kid and he’s got a ton of people looking out for him. Besides-” Here, he turned to look at the large portrait that hung just over the stairs leading to Steven’s loft room. “It would’ve been a disservice to his mother if I didn’t let him explore this side of his family.”

“Connie isn’t Steven,” the doctor stated matter of factly. “She’s not half gem; she’s human. _Fully human_. With fully human bones that could break and a fully human brain that could be crushed by doing one of those dangerous stunts she just displayed. I’m sorry, Greg. I know she’s Steven’s friend, but she’s our _daughter_.”

Greg nodded. He knew this would be hard for him, he was for him absolutely. And that’s why he hated to use the trump card he was about to.

“Okay,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t think we could stop this now even if we tried, but…but you’re more than welcomed to tell Connie your decision once this is all over.” Taking a breath, he asked, “How well do you think that’s gonna go over?”

“It doesn’t matter how it goes over,” Doug spat. “Connie is going to do whatever we say.”

“Why?” Priyanka asked, giving Greg a look. “Why would you ask that?”

Greg sighed and hoped Connie would forgive him for what he was about to reveal, especially if she hadn’t done so herself. “How much has Connie told you about the Gems?” he asked. “Specifically…where they originally come from?”

“That they aren’t from Earth,” the doctor answered. “And that Peridot and Lapis are from the same planet or world or where ever they hail.”

“Did she tell you about Jasper?”

“The gem that tried to take Steven into space?” Doug asked. “The one she and Steven were able to defeat?”

Greg nodded. “The long and short of it is,” he began. “There was a war for Earth that the Gems…started in order to protect it. Rose, Pearl, and Garnet had to turn on their own kind in order to prevent the planet’s destruction. Jasper – and at one time, Peridot and Lapis – were on the side against Earth, the gems who wanted to do bad things to it that would, essentially, wipe out humanity. All the corrupted gems and all the missions are the aftermaths of what happened.”

“What does that have to do with this?” asked Doug. “Or Connie?”

“Until Lapis,” Greg began. “The Gems thought they were protected on Earth. Obviously, they weren’t. And while we have Peridot and Lapis are our side, there’s…there’s a pretty good chance Earth is still in the crosshairs of the gem homeworld.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, there’s a pretty good chance they might come back.”

“That settles it,” Priyanka said, also standing from the couch. “We’re getting Connie right now. I refuse to let my daughter participate in a war that traces itself back…thousands of years. This isn’t our fight; this isn’t _her_ fight!”

“Except it is,” Greg pressed. “These gems...it doesn't matter if Pearl or Garnet or Amethyst or even Steven is here to stop them, because they aren't just here for _them_. They hated Earth then and they hate Earth now, that's not gonna change. If anything, it might put a bigger target on our backs."

"You're doing nothing to help your argument against this," Doug said.

Greg rolled her eyes. "My point is," he continued. "The entire _planet_ could be in danger and it wouldn't matter if you told her no, Connie would find a way to help. It took almost a year before Connie started telling you what was going on. Do you really think she wouldn’t be able to hide coming over?”

“Do not try to tell me about _my_ daughter, Mr. Universe,” Priyanka spat. “Connie was perfectly fine before meeting Steven and she’ll be fine afterwards. I think the best thing would be to put as much distance between the two as possible.”

“Was she though?”

“Excuse me?”

“Connie,” Greg repeated. “You said she was perfectly fine before you all came here and before she met Steven. Was she? And do you think she’ll be fine if you up and move her? Connie can be…pretty persistent when she wants to be and she’s focused. I get it, I really do. Steven’s my son and if I thought taking him away from all this would keep him safe, I would. And believe me, I’ve thought about it.

“But even if I took Steven across the country or the world, he’d find a way back. Because that’s who he is. He’ll protect the Gems, and Connie, just like they’d protect him because he’ll do whatever it takes to keep the people he loves safe. Just like his mother. And trust me when I say that the Gems and Steven would and will protect Connie on their lives.

“So yeah,” Greg finished. “I get wanting to take Connie away from all this, but…Connie doesn’t seem like the type to just sit around and let things happen around her. Nor is she the type to let the people she loves suffer, not if she could help it. I gather that’s something she has in common with the two of you.”

Doug and Priyanka stood, both in shock and little bit of shameful guilt. The urge to take Connie far away from all of this was still strong, in both of them, but Greg’s words did highlight their worst fears – they could take Connie to another continent and she would find a way back here, back to Steven, back to the Gems, and back to these missions. This whole ordeal showed just how sneaky their daughter could be and how very unobservant they had both become.

It had become painfully clear just how unhappy Connie had been and how neither of them had truly noticed. What may have happened if Connie _hadn’t_ met Steven? Hiding the occasional junk food snack and encounter with strange mysterious beasts was fantastical, yes, but those situations could easily be swapped with the increasing dangers most teenagers found themselves in.

In another life, they would have a teen who seemed fine on the outside, but troubled on the inside. Both Doug and Priyanka had seen the effects and aftermath of consequences from teens who were the picture of success and intelligence. Drugs, crime, promiscuous activity, suicide…they threw even the most observant parents and always came as surprise, only the signs were clearly there.

In this life, they had let a lot slip by them for nearly a year – how on Earth had they managed to not notice she didn’t have lenses in her glasses!? – and it culminated in them learning of wild adventures with her best friend. As dangerous as all this seemed, they saw that Connie had adapted and adapted well to it.

“Moving would be pointless, wouldn’t it?” Priya asked, quietly, once again taking her seat. “Connie would just find another way.”

“She loves you guys,” Greg said. “If…if you told her to stop, to never do this again, she would. She would listen to you and honor that.”

“But she’d be unhappy,” Doug said, sitting down next to his wife. “That’s what you mean. She’s done a lot of things for us, just to make us happy, and she probably _would_ do what we said. Oh, she’d argue, but in the end, she’d do what we said. And on one hand, she’d go back to being a very unhappy little girl and on the other, she’d go back to lying to us. Only this time, it would be something bigger than laser shooty things.”

“Hey,” Greg replied, standing. This wasn't the type of talk he wanted, but as a parent, he knew he was the only one they _could_ really ask and really get a solid, honest to goodness answer. “Let me get you two a drink. And some food. We have a bit of a break until Connie’s last room.”

The Indian couple nodded, solemnly, each lost in their own thoughts.

By the time Greg was bringing over a tray with drinks and snacks, the Temple door opened, first revealing Lapis and Peridot and then Amethyst and two gems the Maheswarans had never met. Obviously the two were known, judging by the surprised reaction of Greg when he saw them.

“Alright,” replied one of the gems – a short, red one with a red headband. “That’s it. When Pearl gets in here, we are having a serious talk about how to address us when you see us, that does not include the phrase, ‘is everything alright?’. Our unfusing does _not_ mean something is wrong.”

“Don’t you two hate being unfused?” asked Lapis, a small smile on her face.

“That is not the point.”

“So?” Peridot asked, hopping on the couch and peering at the Maheswarans. “How was it?”

“What?” Doug sputtered, leaning away from the smaller gem.

“The video feed!” the green gem exclaimed. “I’m excited to hear if the video connections were able to work within the Temple. I was of course skeptical of the entire thing, I mean human technology is light years behind gem technology, even at its most primitive, but with Greg’s assistance, I believe we created an optimal experience, but I wanted to know what you thought.

“Were my drones able to adequately project the proper image on the antiquated viewing cube?”

“Hey, that antiquated viewing cube is only three years old, thank you very much!” came Greg’s indignant huff. “And I’ll have you know you can watch anything in wide screen mode. And it has in picture viewing.”

“How is that important?” Peridot asked. “The important thing is whether or not Connie’s parental units were able to observe her with use of my drones.”

“Cut the technobabble, Peri,” Amethyst whined, reaching over the small gem to grab a large handful off the tray Greg had just placed down. And large was a reasonable statement, as she just enlarged her hand and managed to swipe the majority of food that was previously there. “You’re gonna bore everyone here.”

“Manners, Amethyst,” Sapphire chastised.

“I’m merely trying to discover if my drones were able to produce a quantitative output.”

“Other people are here, too,” Ruby whined, trying to grab a snack from Amethyst’s hand, which she had since turned into a bucket. “And the last thing anyone wants is for you to mixing things that don’t need to be mixed together!”

“My deepest apologies,” Sapphire said, trying to speak to the Maheswarans around an arguing Ruby, Amethyst, and Peridot. “I swear, it’s usually much calmer than this and they are much better behaved.”

Lapis, who had taken Greg’s seat on the other side of the doctor, shrugged when the woman looked at her. “I don’t live here,” the water gem replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst's room is based off two scenes from the movie _Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom_.
> 
> In the episode The Test, her room had an allusion to the first movie, _Raiders of the Lost Ark_. Seeing as this story is meant to be a sequel of sorts to that episode, it made sense for Amethyst to create a room that was a sequel (technically, prequel) to her original.


	6. Chapter V - Connie's Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie has an unexpected jam session that ends on a very pleasant note.

**Chapter V – Connie’s Universe**

 

_Fourth chamber_

After encountering the previous three rooms, Connie was sure Steven was planning something equally grand. She wasn’t sure what she would encounter, but it wasn’t what she saw. Walking through the door, she was met with a familiar scene of a beach; even the sounds and smells were of the sandy enclosure right outside the beach house.

And in the middle of it was Steven Universe, sitting on a blanket with a small basket in front of him. “Connie!” he exclaimed, seeing her enter and head towards him.

Taking a seat next to him, she bumped his shoulder with her. Later, she would state her comment was influenced by Amethyst’s remarks, but for the moment, Connie just said what was on her mind. “You know,” she said. “There are easier ways for you to ask me on a date.” The statement caused both of them to blush hard.

“If…if you wanted to,” she stumbled.

“Well obviously I’m willing to do whatever it takes just to see you,” he countered, sending her an embarrassed – but shy – look.

“Like this room?”

Steven nodded. “I wanted to give you a little break,” he said. “You’ve gone through three different rooms, fighting against everyone and I know Pearl’s room is the last one you have to go through, so…I thought we could have some snacks.” Pulling the basket towards them, he opened it to reveal two jars of jam and a bag of Steven’s favorite biscuits.

If one forgot about the actual place and the reason, this could have been just a normal day between jam buds, sitting on the beach and having a snack. Connie was surprised Steven hadn’t conjured up the arm of the Temple, where they would normally have their jam bud sessions, but it wasn’t out of character for them to actually have a picnic on the beach, looking out at the ocean and enjoying the soft breeze in the air.

Most occasions they would just discuss what was going on in their daily lives – what Connie was doing in school and what Steven had done during a mission; other times, they talked about their worries. Though the two often confided in each other, they also tended to keep their feelings close to their hearts, fearing what the other might think about their actions. After learning about the ways a fusion could fall apart, the two teens had been more forthcoming to each other, especially Steven.

Luckily, in this case, their discussion was more about how Connie’s day had been going and her testing. Steven listened intently as she told him about her first trial facing off against Peridot and Lapis, meeting Ruby and Sapphire, and fighting Amethyst’s shapeshifted form. The teen was surprised at the tasks his best friend had been put through – up until this point, Steven hadn’t been aware of what the Gems were planning for Connie or what order her tasks would be in.

The one thing that everyone apparently agreed on, however, was that Pearl would be the last member Connie would need to face. And with that, Steven had wanted to be before that. If anything, the teen had wanted to cheer on his best friend – this was a big deal for her. He knew Connie worried about whether she actually had a place within his life, especially when she had school and tennis practice and violin lessons that took her away from the missions she wanted to be on.

But that’s why he enjoyed hanging out with her. Her life was so different, so…magical compared to his. Yes, he actually dealt with alien technology and actual magical items, but Connie got to do cool things too! Like, just last week she was telling him how she, Jeff, and Micah were going to try and create battle robots for their science fair project. Of course, the first thing he suggested was that Pearl and Peridot helped them!

Sometimes, he couldn’t understand how Connie thought _he_ had the more exciting life.

His life was _dangerous_ and it was something he hadn’t really thought about or realized until Peridot brought Jasper and Lapis to Earth. Up to that point, fighting off corrupted gems and finding old gem tech was exciting and cool; then Jasper had come and Steven _saw_ the actual reason his mother and the others did what they did, why _he_ was continuing to protect the Earth.

In the end, Jasper hadn’t wanted to be cured or wanted his help, Bismuth couldn’t let go of her own beliefs, Eyeball wouldn’t see reason, and Navy wouldn’t think twice about using his own feelings against him. The Diamonds, especially Yellow Diamond, were under the impression that the Earth was doomed and would most likely come to take more humans to the zoo and who knew what would happen once they found out the cluster had been contained.

These were actual stakes, actual events that could come true at any moment. And that didn’t even cover the possibility that Steven may or may not be able to cure the corruption that kept so many gems in bubbles in the Burning Room.

There were times, many times, Steven wished his biggest problem was studying for a math test.

But times like these, it truly didn’t matter. Connie thought he was great and he thought she was the best thing that could have ever happened to him (apart from being able to summon his powers and go on missions). If not for the actual setting, Steven could pretend this was just another jam buds session, his arm around Connie as she rested her head on his shoulder.

After the biscuits had been eaten and their jam put away, the two teens reluctantly stood and headed for the door that would lead one of the young knights to her final trial. “Connie.”

The way he said her name had the teen stopping and turning to face him, concerned that there may have been something wrong. Instead, he reached out to hold both of her hands in his and did his best to lessen the blush that was slowly covering his face.

“I just…” he began before clearing his throat. He had planned this, but now that the moment was here, he was getting nervous. “I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. Not just because you’re doing something I don’t think any human has ever done, but because…because I don’t think _I_ could’ve gone through everything without you.”

“Steven…” she whispered, giving his hands a squeeze. “I couldn’t have gotten here if it wasn’t for you. That’s why I’m even here – I wanted to help you, help you protect Earth, and…keep you safe. I told you…I want to be a part of your universe.”

Pulling her closer, Steven whispered, “You do help, more than you could probably ever know. I couldn’t have gotten without _you_. Don’t you see, Connie? _You’re_ my universe.”

And like that, the air between them changed. They had always cared about each other, but this was the first moment that they had officially addressed what they truly felt for one another. They were still young and they would, more likely than not, face many dangers before the end and there were always possibilities that one or both of them may not _make_ it to the end. Steven wanted to believe that things would work out for the best, but sometimes the best wasn’t always guaranteed.

So, in the case that something could happen, wasn’t it better for Connie know his feelings?

And while Steven was thinking of that, Connie was thinking the same thing. Oh, she was the realist to Steven’s optimist, so she knew the possibilities of something going wrong would always be in play, but it certainly wasn’t something she wished or wanted. She knew whatever time she had with Steven was to be cherished and she was not about to waste any of it.

And she sure as heck wasn’t about to let him go without a fight.

Connie wouldn’t say she was impulsive, if anything she was usually the voice of reason against Steven’s impulsive actions, but sometimes she went on gut instincts, especially after their encounter with Jasper. And now, she was going to follow her gut by doing something she had wanted to do nearly a year ago.

Leaning forward, she kissed Steven.

On the lips.

It wasn’t long, at least not as long she may have wanted, but it was long enough that when she pulled back, it was clear it had taken both of them by surprise. It looked like Steven may have been trying to say something, but was so stunned, he could only make small noises. Blushing hard, Connie gave his hands another squeeze before letting them go and turning towards the door.

Watching her turn suddenly spur Steven into action. The kiss had been unexpected, but certainly not unwanted, so he wanted to make sure Connie was aware that, while surprising, kissing was more than welcomed. Very welcomed!

“Connie!”

Once again, Connie turned to face her best friend – they were still best friends, right? – and waited for him to say something. It only took a second, but in that brief moment, the girl wondered if maybe her impulsiveness was going to bite her in the worst way. And then _Steven_ kissed _her_.

Again, it was just a short moment of his lips on hers, but it lasted long enough that neither could forget this (and if Garnet was around, she would definitely state that they would never forget this). They would probably need to talk about this when all was said and done, but for now, there was only thing left to say.

“For luck,” the boy whispered, smiling at her. “But I know you don’t need it.”

Matching his smile, the girl turned for the last time and made her way through her final door. Steven watched her go, his eyes bright and wide in excitement. She was gonna do great.

He just knew it.

 

* * *

 

 

When Steven reentered the beach house, he was a little surprised at the large crowd that was now gathered in front of the television. He knew the Maheswarans wanted to watch Connie’s progress, but he had thought Lapis and Peridot would’ve headed back to the barn and despite knowing Ruby and Sapphire had unfused, it was still a little surprising seeing them both on the couch next to Amethyst.

“Hey Ste-man!” the purple gem cried, seeing him as he walked towards them. “You’re just in time to watch the battle of swords! Man, Connie must’ve put you through the ringer; you are redder than a tomato.”

“You do look a little flushed,” Priyanka replied, leaning over to observe the boy. “Are you alright?”

“Yes!” he exclaimed, the word breaking as his voice did. He giggled before shaking his head. “Fine, fine. ‘M totally fine. Everything’s fine.”

He tried his best not to keep smiling, especially when Connie’s parents were giving him looks – even his dad threw him a confused one – but he managed to cover it up as he wrapped his arms around Sapphire from behind as he took a seat next to her. Burying his head in her hair, he mumbled, “I’m so ridiculously happy.”

The seer smiled, patting one of the boy’s cheeks when he rose his head and delivered a kiss to the cheek closest to her. Ruby turned almost on instinct towards the two, sending a wink to the teenager and causing him to giggle again.

“This is the last room Connie has to face?” Doug asked.

“It’s Pearl’s,” Ruby replied, leaning over Amethyst in order grab a handful of popcorn.

“It was the whole point of having the snacks,” Amethyst said, her mouth full of said snacks.

“I thought the point of the ‘snacks’ was because humans need regular supplement intakes of food,” questioned Peridot.

“The point of the snacks was to be _neighborly_ ,” Greg stressed, glaring as Amethyst shoved an entire plate of cheese and crackers into her mouth, along with the plate. “And yes, Peridot, humans do need to eat on a regular schedule, but it’s nice to have a few snacks in between meals.”

It was on the tip of Priya’s tongue to state that in between meal snacking was the reason more and more of her patients were coming in with cardio and weight issues, but she managed to still the retort and put the conversation back on this last trial. “Connie’s facing off against her teacher,” she replied. “Do you think Pearl will have her run drills of some sort?”

“Wha?” Amethyst asked, hastily swallowing a handful of popcorn. “Drills, nothing. Those two are about to enter a hard core battle.”

“I’m sure you’re overexaggerating,” the doctor said. “I have no doubt Pearl has some skill…”

“Pearl is an expert swordsman,” Sapphire stated. “She’s had well over a millennia of study, practice, and actual combat experience.”

“She’s taught sword masters,” Ruby added.

“Yeah,” the purple gem supplied. “Pearl ain’t no slouch.”

“There’s no…danger, is there?” Doug asked, hesitantly. After everything else they’d seen, allowing Connie to face off against not only a competent sword wielder, but an expert and master was suddenly bringing home a bigger danger they may have overlooked.

“No way,” Steven piped up, shaking his head. “Connie can handle herself against Pearl, no matter what she might have in store.”

“I concur with Steven,” Peridot agreed. “Connie has shown to be proficient in her weapon of choice and certainly, learning it from someone who is equally proficient means they may be on equal footing. With that said, I don’t believe Connie will succeed in this endeavor. Not because of her skills!” This was said when all eyes turned on her.

“I’m merely incorporating the statements from Ruby and Sapphire,” she continued. “Granted, I have not seen Pearl’s attempts at swordplay, but she has surprised me with her knowledge of engineering and technological concepts, so I would have assumed that she is able to perform the current fighting style with the same precision she places on everything else.”

“There are no flaws to that logic,” the seer admitted. “It’s a good point.”

“The world must’ve gone crazy,” Amethyst stated, waving her arm. Unfortunately, said arm was attached to hand that was currently wrapped around a bowl of pretzels, so her movements only caused bits of the snack to fly out at people. “Lapis is smiling, Ruby and Sapphire are unfused, dogs and cats are living together. It’s madness, I tells ya! Madness! Ha ha ha!”

“Give me that!” Ruby growled, snatching the bowl about a second before it would’ve crashed into her own head.

“We really are not this rowdy,” Sapphire said, again speaking to the Indian couple. “I feel the need to really stress that.”

“We’re really a bunch of totally cool people,” Steven added.

“We are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're coming up on the end, folks! Next up - Connie gets to the final chamber and the Maheswarans learn some interesting things about gems.


	7. Chapter VI - Battle of the Swords

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl and Garnet have a conversation. Connie enters her final chamber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lateness everyone! I have a valid excuse - I spent an hour or so looking up sword types, specifically trying to place the exact type that Pearl and Connie use in the show. And I also spent a few more looking up videos of sword fighting. I also spent time looking up the history of said sword and sword fighting - before anyone comments about it, the history mentioned is slightly different and that's due to SU's history being different.
> 
> If you wanna have a soundtrack to Connie's final chamber, I'll give you two - You can go with [Dance of the Swords](https://youtu.be/rEeJuEM2ZRI) (Pearl's first fight with her holo-Pearl in Steven the Sword Fighter) or [Duel of the Fates](https://youtu.be/P1k5zo0w6N8) (the lightsaber battle between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars Episode III) 
> 
> Keep your eyes out - I've shadowed all the fores in this chapter (not to mention earlier) and, as in the show, they will come back at some point.
> 
> Now, without further ado, I'll let commenter Theodore Amos give you the introduction:
> 
> In this corner - we have the thirteen year old phenom! The rising star of violin, tennis, and blade. The sword of Stevonnie, founding Crystal Temp and first human Crystal Gem. The strawberry to Steven's biscuit... **CONNIE "Miss Knight" MAHESWAREN!!!**
> 
> And in this corner - We have a gem who need no introduction. A founding and oldest active Crystal Gem. The dancer of swords and spears...The legendary Terrifying Renegade... **PEARL!!!**
> 
> Let's get ready to rumble!

 

**Chapter VI – Battle of the Swords**

 

_Two months ago_

 

Monday was the day Pearl designated as laundry day. As a gem, the actual day didn’t really matter, just that it needed to be done on a weekly basis and she enjoyed keeping a consistent schedule. Very rarely was this schedule disrupted – usually because of a mission or some corrupted gem attacking somewhere – but overall, Pearl felt the schedule was an important facet not only for Steven, but them as well.

As such, Pearl kept the same routine every Monday morning – make breakfast for Steven and then proceed to gather his dirty laundry. In many cases, Steven would be around to help, but today he had gone to get more supplies for Connie’s upcoming birthday party. After telling the others that his best friend had never had a proper birthday party, their young ward had taken it upon himself to provide her with the best party she ever had.

Even with some teasing, mostly from Amethyst, the Gems were of course more than happy to help with this endeavor. They liked Connie and not just because she was Steven’s friend, but because she had turned out to be a very intelligent, fun, and brave young girl. They hadn’t met many humans like Connie – or even Greg for that matter – so her inclusion into their group had been quite a departure and a surprise.

The Crystal Gems weren’t strangers to fighting alongside humans – during the war, the different human groups in the area were sometimes surprisingly quick to side with the rebels to propel Homeworld back from their planet. ‘ _The enemy of my enemy is my friend_ ’ as the human saying went, however that was really as far as human-gem relationships went.

Yes, they may have fought together, but it didn’t mean that either side spent all that much time together. Well, that is to say, _Pearl_ didn’t spend that much time with humans; in many cases, it was Rose who interacted the most with humans, with Sapphire being second only due to her diplomatic skills. Rose had honored those fallen humans by gathering their armor and placing it within her armory, wanting to remember not only them, but the sacrifices done for their cause.

But ever since the introduction of Greg Universe into the mix, Pearl had been confronted with the prospect of having to interact with these humans.

Granted, ignoring Greg had been – in hindsight – a futile effort on her part, just a reaction to being…well, in a word, _replaced_ by someone who couldn’t possibly hold all of the advantages that she did. But Pearl had since seen and _discovered_ what made Greg so special and why Rose had fallen in love with him in the first place. Many of those traits were now being shown in their son, who had introduced even _more_ humans into their circle.

One of those being Connie Maheswaran.

As Pearl made her way to the warp pad in order to head up to the washer and dryer, the lithe gem couldn’t help but turn her thoughts to her pupil. There was a lot in Connie that reminded Pearl of herself – the young, unremarkable being who was introduced to a whole new world and life thanks to a loving and kind quartz. The younger girl was determined, persistent, focused, and loyal, things Pearl greatly admired.

But all of those positive traits also reminded Pearl of her _negative_ ones as well, especially the feeling of being lesser than the powerful leader they had sworn to protect. However, unlike Rose who had been concerned and disappointed at her knight’s insistence on protecting her at the cost of her life, Steven had been very vocal and physical in his argument about Connie taking on the same mentality.

Watching the two of them fight was like nothing she had seen before (which was technically a lie, as she _had_ seen two beings fight in such a way during the war) and while they had some similarities to her and Rose, the two teens far exceeded their teamwork and combat style. Connie had excelled in all of her expectations when she decided to take her on as a pupil and the gem had been steadily increasing the difficulty and hardship of their training.

Which all boiled down to a singular purpose and something she had had on her mind for quite some time.

Making Connie an official member of the Crystal Gems.

It would be an impressive move – in their entire history, there had _never_ been a human within their ranks. The closest would possibly be Steven, but considering his half-gem status, that really ruled him out (as did the fact that he was Rose Quartz’s son); there was Greg, though his assistance was mainly due to protecting his son. The former musician tended to stay out of gem matters – hence the reason he allowed the Gems to teach and raise Steven once he got older – but he could be counted on to help in matters.

But that didn’t make him Crystal Gem material or even a member.

Connie on the other hand…

The human had shown an incredible affinity to learning to fight, a shared interest in the history and techniques Pearl was teaching her, and always willing to learn more. Connie had an eagerness to take direction, but she had always shown the ability to question when the situation called for it, especially in regard to Steven, who sometimes based his actions on emotional, gut instincts than logic based reality.

After that disastrous training session that saw Stevonnie fall off the Sky Arena, Pearl began to reaffirm her thoughts on the matter. The young fusion had gone up against Jasper and won, with only the training of Steven and Connie to base their fighting style, however it had been enough to the point that Pearl felt it important for future training sessions to involve the fusion as well.

Taken all together – Connie’s apt learning abilities, fusing with Steven, her readiness to defend her planet and everyone on it – well…that made Connie more Crystal Gem than anyone.

However, it wasn’t just Pearl’s decision and to be truthful, she was biased. Of course she wanted her student, her apprentice, to stand beside them should Homeworld and the Diamonds return, but it wasn’t just her call to make. It was a group effort and that meant speaking with the other senior member of their core.

Taking the warp from the house proper up to the outstretched arm of the Temple was, once again, a routine that Pearl often made every Monday. Amethyst had once joked you could set your watch or clock to when the agile gem would go up and come back to continue the various chores that the purple gem usually neglected. And while arriving on the similar pad located on the palm was routine, seeing the gem she did was _not_.

“Howdy.”

“Shouldn’t you be on a mission?” Pearl asked, stepping off the pad and making a beeline to the washing machine.

“I finished that hours ago,” the larger gem replied, shrugging as she did.

“So you thought you’d wait up here to help me with the laundry?”

“Sure.”

“Did you?”

“Not really,” Garnet said. “But I can.”

Truthfully, Garnet had finished an earlier mission and had immediately gone up to the Temple’s arm with the feeling that her oldest comrade wanted to speak with her. So, she leaned against one of the arm’s fingers and waited. Moving from her position, she began to measure out the detergent while Pearl separated the colors from the whites.

The two were silent in their task, a comfortable quiet that could only be achieved for those who knew you for several millennia, and was only interrupted when Pearl asked, “Well?”

“Hmm?”

Sending the fusion a look, Pearl continued with, “I know you didn’t just come up here to help me do laundry. I can only guess you have an alternative reason to speak with me.”

“You tell me,” Garnet replied. “I figured you wanted to speak to _me_.”

Pearl opened her mouth, but then closed it and nodded. Garnet always seemed perceptible when it came to knowing when someone needed to discuss something with her; the former renegade had always chalked it up to her seeing a vision, but after a few thousand years, Pearl realized it was just because Garnet knew her well enough to see she had something on her mind.

“I did,” the pearl replied. “Steven’s been putting a lot of work and effort into planning this party for Connie’s upcoming birthday.” Sending a sly look towards the fusion, she added, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him put so effort into anything before.”

Smirking, Garnet said, “That’s because Connie isn't just _anyone_.”

Pearl nodded. “That is certainly true,” she whispered. “Which…actually brings to mind on what gift _we_ should present to her for her birthday.”

“You have an idea?”

“Yes, actually.”

The two didn’t speak for a moment, allowing Pearl to finish placing much of Steven’s clothing within the washer. “Which is?” the fusion questioned.

Turning to face her current leader, Pearl prepared her points. “As you know,” she began. “Connie has been training along with Steven and her progress is, to say, remarkable. The two of them together make a very formidable team and you’ve seen Stevonnie; from what they described, their fight against Jasper was a fortunate win.

“And Connie is practically an expert,” she continued. “Not at my level, of course, but…for someone so young, she definitely will be in a few years.”

“Connie has incredible talent.”

“Yes! Exactly!” Pearl exclaimed. “Couple that with Steven’s own growing skills, well…I did say they have exceptional teamwork and…”

“Pearl,” Garnet chuckled. “You don’t have to tell me about Connie’s skills. I agree with you one hundred percent.”

“Good, good,” Pearl stammered. “I’m glad you do because…well…that actually leads me to my _main_ point.” Taking a breath, she whispered, “Things on Earth are nothing like they were or would be on Homeworld. I mean, we fought a war to ensure that, but…neither of us can deny the possibility that we might encounter…opposition to our presence still being here. And we aren’t exactly a match against who knows how many troops Yellow Diamond’s managed to amass since the war ended.

“Don’t get me wrong,” she insisted. “One war was enough and I do not look forward to being engaged in another, but…”

“The possibility is there,” Garnet supplied. “Even I can’t tell how things will go. There’s an unpredictability to Homeworld that we’ve never had or seen before and that’s going to make things tricky.”

Pearl nodded. “I hope it doesn’t get to that point,” she whispered. “I’d rather not involve Steven or Amethyst, to be honest.”

“We may not have a choice.”

“True,” the gem agreed. “But…in the interest of protecting this planet and everyone on it…that was at the heart of the Crystal Gems.” Turning to look at the fusion, she asked, “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Absolutely,” Garnet nodded. “So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying…I’m saying that Connie matches everything that the Crystal Gems stand for and I know it would, it would be an unprecedented move but…”

“You want to make Connie an official member.”

Pearl gave her a hard look. "I do."

In their long history together, the two could be unwaveringly stubborn, sometimes set in their ways to have their point of view put in action or to have the last word. Thankfully, they weren’t completely averse to taking in the other’s point of things and usually Rose was there to smooth things over between her highest ranking generals.

In this case, Pearl wasn’t going to back down. As highly irregular as it was to have a human in the Crystal Gems, her student had more than proved she could handle anything that might come and they would all be there to help her if they met a situation they couldn’t.

Raising her hands in placation, Garnet chuckled. “You won’t hear any argument from me,” she said. “Actually, I thought we had already gone over this _months_ ago.”

“Yes, well,” Pearl replied. “Connie’s still young and has only officially been on one mission. However, there’s more than enough potential for her to be a tremendous asset to us and to Steven. Besides, we’ve long held a tradition of testing new members – Steven, Amethyst, Biggs, Moony…you…”

Garnet chuckled. “Twice, if I remember correctly.”

“That was completely and totally Ruby’s fault,” Pearl retorted. “So, you agree?”

“Of course,” the fusion replied. “There was never a possibility of me saying no to this, but it was nice of you to ask. I’ll defer to your judgement on it; after all, Connie is your student.”

“Yes,” Pearl said. “But Stevonnie is quickly becoming _yours_.”

“Don’t worry,” Garnet stated. “I have something I’ll need their help on coming up.”

“A mission?”

“Possibly,” she said. “There’s a place I want to check out. Shouldn’t be anything dangerous, but…it doesn’t hurt to have some extra backup.”

Again, the lithe gem nodded, though much more slowly than had she previously. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask what it was Garnet had possibly seen that would constitute this, but Pearl knew her friend never did anything without explanation, even if it meant just traveling to some outdated gem architecture to look around.

It was probably nothing, just a quick test for Stevonnie – or at best, a short mission for Steven and Connie – and nothing more.

 

* * *

 

_Two months later_

After four different and distinct chambers, Connie was still surprised when she entered Pearl’s. It was slightly darker than the other rooms she had been in, even darker than Amethyst’s chamber of doom. Walking through the door, the young girl stepped on a ledge way that led to a silvery pillar and on that pillar, was her teacher.

Steven had once described what it was like to be in the Temple proper, though the closest she had gotten was being in Steven’s (mother’s) room. He described how Amethyst literally kept _everything_ in her room and when she had likened it to an organized trash dump, he had surprisingly agreed with her. Pearl’s room, he said, was like standing in a room full of waterfalls. Ironically, these waterfalls and waterways usually ended up going directly to Amethyst’s room.

Steven then confessed he hadn’t been in Garnet’s room, but thought perhaps she didn’t have one, but that Ruby and Sapphire did. He wasn’t even sure of the latter and he had a strange suspicion that the rooms ended up changing on occasion, as in moving from one location to another. It was one of the reasons he always had trouble finding the others when leaving his room.

As she looked about the chamber, Connie could imagine her instructor borrowed aesthetics from her room to decorate this chamber. Efficiently putting Connie on Pearl’s turf and an unfamiliar one at that. The former renegade gem stood in the middle of a large circular pillar and seemed to be examining a row of swords that were lined up to the right. Apparently deciding on one, she lifted it from its scabbard and began to test it, weaving it about her.

“Connie,” she replied, turning to see the young girl finally enter and step onto the platform.

Removing the scabbard from her back, Connie set it next to one of the swords on the end and watched as it lifted up in order to be aligned with the others. “Sorry I’m late,” she said, turning back to her teacher.

Pearl only smirked, raising a slim eyebrow. “I’m sure.”

In that moment, the teen knew that Pearl knew _exactly_ what may have kept her or rather, _whom_. The gem may not have known the specifics, but unlike Steven, Pearl had a fairly good idea of who Connie would face before reaching her and she seemed to know that Steven wouldn’t put her through a fight.

“I’ve never shown you my sword collection, have I?”

“No, ma’am,” the teen whispered, eyeing the various swords on display.

“Something to rectify, for sure,” Pearl replied. “This is just a small amount, but I figured I’d give you the choice of weapons this round.”

Connie nodded. “Thank you.”

“It’s also well past the time you moved on from training swords,” the gem continued. “I know using Rose’s sword is your primary, but it never hurts to have knowledge in other types.” Gesturing to the row, Pearl said, “Go on.”

“I’m honored,” the girl whispered, in awe. She knew Pearl took her swordsmanship seriously and while she had figured the gem had her own collection, as stated, she had yet to see it and if this was just a _small_ number… There were at least ten on display here and even with such a minuscule amount, Connie was overwhelmed at the sheer trust her teacher had in her skills to give her the permission to use one.

 _The honor is mine_ , Pearl thought, watching as her pupil eyed the various grips and pommels as they stood proudly within their scabbards. She observed as the girl seemed to stop in front of one of her favorites – though, if she was honest, the swords on display here were just _some_ of her favorites – a 19 th century Indian talwar.

It was slightly curved, with a single-edged blade, and a golden brass handle, that curved from the pommel to the guard, creating a slightly thinner hand guard that Connie was used to. Pulling it from its scabbard, the girl tested the weight and handle, being reminded of the training blade she had used when first learning.

“I’ve had that blade for quite some time,” Pearl replied, seeing the sword her pupil had chosen. “It was a gift from an Indian prince for saving his life. Turns out, his brother was trying to remove him from the ascending the throne. It was actually an accident on my part; I just didn’t want to eat the elaborate meal they were serving and during those days, I was…quite vocal about it.”

Sending a smirk towards her tutor, Connie said, “I can’t imagine.”

Matching her smirk, Pearl continued with, “Yes, well, point is without my…aversion, we’ll say, India would’ve gotten a much different leader. Well…I guess line of leaders. His progeny really didn’t come into play until later in the century.”

“That puts their independence from British rule in…1892?” Connie asked, her forehead furled in remembrance. Technically, her grade level had just begun world history, however Connie was well ahead of her classmates – by at least a year – so she would be entering into advanced social studies the next year. And she wanted to be ready for it, especially when that history directly affected her.

“That’s probably my favorite from that era,” Pearl said, wistfully.

Again Connie tested the weapon, liking the balance and grip the sword provided. “Your favorite?”

“Yes.”

“So then,” the girl began. “It would be rather ironic for me to defeat you with it. Right?”

The war veteran looked at her student, a smile growing on her face. She honestly didn’t know what this match would be like – would Connie just assume this was another training session? Or something more serious? Now, however, it seemed the girl was more than determined to see her way to the end, victorious.

“Don’t you seem confident?” she retorted, watching as the teen walked towards her and took her place across from her on the platform.

“You know I take my exams very seriously,” Connie countered. Looking at her tutor, she stated quite matter of factly, “And I haven’t failed one yet.”

Master and apprentice stood across from each other, their swords held in their right hands, and only inches from meeting each other in the en garde position. It was a position both were familiar with, something that started most of their training sessions, the only difference being the weapons used. The first parries and thrusts were standard fare, a test of might and skill, an opening maneuver to test the waters a little. Neither opponent gave however – at this point in her training, Connie had a fairly good idea of Pearl’s skills and vice versa. No one would be giving an inch at the start.

But Pearl hadn’t set this up just to go a quick round with her student – she had done this to not only test her skills, but push them as far as she could. And once she found that limit, it was going to be her job to push it even further the next time Connie came over. With that in mind, the swordswoman pushed her advantage, her thrusts coming quicker than before, in an attempt to throw the young girl off her game.

Connie met every attack with a counter, moving back as Pearl pressed forward. From the outset, it seemed as though the older gem had the advantage and this fight could be over before it truly began, but that’s what the teen was hoping for. Gripping the hilt with both hands, Connie met the next attack with a counter that pushed the gem back slightly, which was when the teen went on the offensive.

Their fight was very much like a dance – attack, counter; thrust, parry; pivot, counter slide. There was a back and forth that only a teacher and student could display, the experience of the teacher and the rising potential of their student. If a move threw them off guard, neither showed it, and instead pressed on, looking for the opening they needed.

The two managed to circle each other with every quick hit and near miss, before both spun away from each other and stopped to look at each other, their breaths coming heavily. “Impressive,” Pearl nodded. “Most impressive.”

Connie chuckled. “You’ll find I’m full of surprises.”

Pearl, who now found herself standing next to her own sword collection, removed another sword from its scabbard, twirling it around in her hand. “What a coincidence,” she smirked, taking a stance. “So am I.”

Once again, Connie gripped the hilt of her sword with both hands and stood, watching as Pearl moved away from the other swords to meet her in parallel. “Double the trouble, Pearl?” she asked.

“Sometimes, two is better than one,” the gem replied. “Now…shall we begin?”

In that moment, Connie realized that Pearl had been, in a sense, toying with her. Their encounter a few moments ago was just the appetizer – something wholly familiar, at which she could handle with her eyes closed. This however, was the main course, something she had yet to fully encounter – Pearl had mentioned, in passing, that perhaps she start introducing duel swords into their sessions and the teen did have a desire to learn how to manage two swords at once, something her teacher seemed to do with ease.

But they had yet to reach that part of her training. This would be the _real_ test – would Connie be able to fend off a foe using two weapons? Or one that could turn _into_ two? Well, it looked like Pearl wanted to put the girl to the test and Connie was eager to discover if she up to the task.

Unlike earlier, the two didn’t wait for the other to make a move. In a blink, their swords met each other, the same quickness and sure footedness that made the first half just as dazzling. Instead of being at a disadvantage, Connie coordinated her strikes with a combination of switching hands and then using both when blocking.

Pearl was _elated_ – not just because she was watching her student put the skills and knowledge to use, but because she was actually having _fun_. She knew she hadn’t suggested this to Garnet (and then Amethyst and Steven) so they goof around and have fun, but she would be lying if she said she wasn’t enjoying herself.

Because she absolutely was.

During their rebellion and subsequent war, Rose was really the only person she could practice the craft with and even Rose only saw sword fighting as the means to an end and not the freeing experience that Pearl did. Sure, at the first, learning to use a sword had been about being able to not only protect herself, but Rose as well; but once she got into the swing of things, pun intentionally placed, the former servant found she truly _enjoyed_ it.

There was a certain…poise and elegance to sword fighting, not like some humans who just used it to hack and slash their way through machines, trees, animals, and people; no, to Pearl, there was an art to sword fighting – the ability to do several things at the same time, all to ensure that you weren’t the one being split in half.

That’s why training Connie was such a joy – unlike Garnet, who enjoyed the more physical aspects of a fight or Amethyst, who didn’t have the grace to sustain some of the more trickier moves, or Steven, who didn't have the patience and just wanted to jump right into cool moves that didn’t even exist – she understood the underlining facets of positioning, movement, and yes, even emotion that went into facing an opponent.

It was a dance, one that could be choreographed by simply studying and feeling your opponent, telegraphing their moves and making sure they couldn’t do the same for yours. She had meant what she said to Garnet – her young pupil had shown greater promise than even the smartest and strongest Crystal Gem amongst them and she could easily become a great sword master one day.

Case in point, nothing Pearl had done was getting through the girl’s defenses; if anything, Connie was making short work of _hers_. This was where the girl’s innate sense of timing and quick thinking often came into play – Pearl recognized many of these moves, but some were foreign to her. Steven had once mentioned Connie tended to use her tennis playing as basis for her form in some places, something the former renegade would have never taught, but served the teen well in her sessions.

From what Pearl understood of the sport, it was also based on timing – being able to counter the opponent’s move with the ball and then serve it back to a point on the court that would provide you a point (no wonder Garnet enjoyed it; it seemed to be a competitive sport, much more than sword fighting).

Pearl was snapped from her musings when Connie countered her overhead attack with a parry that managed to knock the sword from her hand to land behind her. She knew coming in with a swipe from her left hand was ill-advised – it was at odd angle and could easily be blocked and countered – but instead, Connie ducked underneath it, sliding across the surface to stop near Pearl’s fallen sword.

When Connie stood and picked it up, Pearl hoped beyond all reason that the girl wouldn’t try to take on two swords at once. They hadn’t gotten to that point yet and while she had the skills, duel wielding two weapons at once heightened the damage one could do to themselves. The gem remembered her first forays into it, thanking the stars she was a gem and not a human.

She would’ve nicked important internal parts that probably would’ve spelled her doom long before the actual start of the war.

But once again, her student surprised her. Pointing her discarded sword at her, the girl replied, “It’s always dangerous to leave a sword just lying around” before placing it gently back in to its scabbard.

Pearl nodded her appreciation. “Much obliged.”

The main course was over, Connie thought. _So there’s nothing left but dessert_. So far, she’d been able to keep pace with her teacher and she was thankful that she hadn’t completely dropped tennis, though to be fair, this was way more active than tennis on a given day. Still though, she could feel her heart hammering in her chest and her breath coming out in short bursts.

Pearl must’ve seen the impact of their fight because she relaxed her stance, honestly not surprised when not did Connie not follow suit, but actually lowered her body into attack position.

 _Clever girl_ , the gem thought, before leaping in the air to land herself before her student. Connie of course had anticipated an attack and was ready with a block, their swords clashing once more. Both must have sensed this was the last layer, the last hurdle before those in the beach house proper would know if Connie walked out a Crystal Gem or not because there was no holding back.

Again, the metal of their swords connected, the sound reverberating inside the chamber. With each strike, both opponents tried to get the upper hand, with little success. At least until Connie managed to push the lithe gem and was about to press the attack, but instead dived to the side in order to avoid a beam of light that came straight at her.

Looking up, the teen saw the gem landed perfectly on her feet, a familiar spear spinning in her hand.

“Oh, come on!” the teen whined.

“What’s a matter, Connie?” Pearl asked, smirking. “Did you think this would be easy?”

Giving her teacher a look, Connie chuckled. “You know,” she said. “For a second there, yeah, I actually did.”

Only allowing that statement to stay for a moment, Connie was immediately back on her feet and rushing at Pearl. Still holding an element of fairness, the sword master countered many of the blows with her sword, but soon began to incorporate her spear, swiping at Connie and missing when the girl ducked under it.

They continued, like a friendly conversation, a back and forth between teacher and student, master and apprentice, mentor and learner. If it was possible, they could probably continue this dance well into the night if they wanted. But Pearl knew humans needed relaxation times, they needed to eat, and they needed to socialize among their peers and family. She couldn’t keep Connie here, even if she wanted.

So, she would end this quickly. It would be a sad occasion, but the gem knew the girl could easily make this up. In fact, she would absolutely find a chance for her to do so once they finished this. Connie had managed to knock her sword from her, but she still had her spear against the girl’s sword. The teen had a feeling things were winding down, knew it to be true even, and if she didn’t plan accordingly, she was going to lose this bout. But as with everything in life, sometimes the timing had to be.

Just.

Right.

There!

Pearl had gone for a swipe at Connie, who bent back slightly, letting the sharp edge of the spear barely miss nicking her throat; but it gave her an opening. Using the gem’s momentum in swinging her arm back around, the teen grabbed it to push it back, while simultaneous placing the blade of  her sword to her neck. She could’ve ended it there, instead Connie hooked her leg behind Pearl’s, bringing the gem to the platform on her back.

Upon recovering, said gem discovered the point of a sword between her eyes.

That’s when she laughed. “Well done, Connie!”

The teen smiled widely, removing the blade and extending her hand. Pearl grabbed and pulled herself up before tugging the girl in for a hug. “That was excellent,” she whispered. “I’m so proud of you.”

The teen gave a squeeze in appreciation. “I had a good teacher,” she murmured, causing Pearl to chuckle. She gave Connie one last pat on the back before stepping out of the hug.

“You’ve done very well, Connie,” she replied. “Better than I ever thought possible.”

Connie bowed. “It’s been my honor,” she said.

“No,” Pearl whispered, bowing in return. “The honor has been mine.”


	8. Epilogue - Talks at Midday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of Connie's final exam, Doug and Priya learn more about the Gems, their culture, and this strange thing called fusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are, the end at long last! Buckle up cause it's a long'un.
> 
> Also wanted to give some credit to a chapter of a fic: [8 Days of Steven Universe](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5468615/chapters/12640232) (Thanks to Tomoyochan for reminding me!)
> 
> In chapter 5, Priyanka and Pearl have a talk about Connie's sword training. What I liked about it was Priyanka's reaction to Pearl letting Steven quit sword fighting because he didn't like it. Priya was very much "why would you let him quit?", while Pearl was very much "why would I let him continue something he didn't like?" I thought it really cut to the core of the type of parent Priya is and I have reflected that in this chapter.
> 
> Just want to thank everyone that has been reading so far, for the comments, bookmarks, and subscribes. I hope you all will join me for the next story - Fusion Chemistry!

 

**Epilogue – Talks at Midday**

 

 

Surreal.

That was the only word Priyanka could describe what her feelings were as she and her husband watched their daughter fight against her teacher, using swords. Dangerous swords, which in any other hands, would have torn through ligaments, tissues, arteries, and more. However, in her daughter’s hands, it was a tool and instrument, an extension of her arm and self.

It was chillingly beautiful.

While the others watched in rapt attention, the doctor began to look around – her husband’s fearful gaze had changed to stunned admiration (Doug always did love action-adventure and fantasy stories), while Greg Universe seemed to share the same sentiment, with just a touch of excitement. Everyone else, the gems in their company that is, were on the edge of their seats.

Steven had moved himself to the floor next to Peridot and both were wide eyed at the ongoing fight between Connie and Pearl. The gem Amethyst was excitedly munching on the popcorn she had confiscated, though Priya noted she seemed to be sharing it with the red gem that leaned against her. There was something strange about that red gem and the blue one that accompanied the purple one after her chamber.

Something in the room hadn’t seemed right and it took Priya a while to realize that the large gem – Garnet, she believed the name was – was suspiciously absent. Given her pep talk before hand, the doctor thought she would eagerly want to watch Connie’s progress, but Priya hadn’t seen her since earlier in the day. Had something happened to her? Was she undertaking one of those missions that seemed to be a critical part of their lifestyle?

It was just another thing she didn’t understand and wanted answers to.

The match seemed even and against all odds, Connie managed to win it, causing most of the beach house’s occupants to shout in triumph and excitement. Greg immediately stated it was now a celebration grill, which caused Amethyst to quickly bolt from the couch to hurry to the kitchen, both Universe calling after her. Steven had then turned to both Peridot and Lapis, asking if they planned to stay or head back to the barn. Though reluctant, the moody Lapis agreed only after Peridot had enthusiastically stated she wanted to congratulate Connie on defeating Pearl.

“You should stay.”

Both Doug and Priya looked to the blue gem, startled to hear her speak to them. “What?” asked Doug.

“You should both stay,” she repeated. “You were about to consider leaving, but I think Connie would appreciate it if you both stayed.”

“How did you…?”

The security guard’s question was cut off as the Temple doors opened to reveal Connie and Pearl. Amethyst was quick to start a chant of the teen’s name before picking her up and swinging her around. Doug and Priya stood, walking partway towards their daughter, but letting her have her moment – it seemed so familiar and strange at the same time seeing Connie like this.

Connie was an exceptional child and wasn’t a stranger to receiving praise and honors, but in this context neither parent had ever seen their daughter so full of happiness and excitement and pleasure. Even after winning second place in a recent tennis tournament, Connie had smiled and nodded, but the contrast here was startling – here, her smile reached her eyes and it was clear this not only made her happy, but it meant something to her.

These… _gems_ meant something to her.

As before, upon seeing the smaller red and blue gems, Pearl was surprised to see them in attendance. Doug had to wonder why that was, asking the red gem, “Does everyone always react this way when they see you?”

“Pretty much,” the red gem replied, rolling her eyes as she did so.

The group sent congratulations to Connie, before dispersing after Greg as he called again for an impromptu cookout. Amethyst made a teasing remark, which caused the red gem to restate something about respecting one’s elders. “Oh, I thought you meant my _sane_ elders,” the purple gem joked, giving a playful pull on the red gem’s bandana.

The two immediately chased after each other, Amethyst racing outside and using the deck railing to launch herself in the air before turning into a bird. The red gem followed, however she completely flipped over the railing to land on the sand below and to continue chasing her prey.

“Ugh,” Pearl groaned. “Those two.”

“They’re likely to tire each other out,” the blue gem stated, making her way out the door, the thinner and taller gem following behind her.

The inner sanctum had been cleared, with exception to the Maheswarans, who stood in a semi-circle. “Mom, Dad, did you see me?” Connie asked, excitedly. In all the commotion, neither parent had noticed Connie clutching another sword in her hands, one in addition to the familiar one that hung across her back.

“We did,” Doug replied, pulling her into a hug. “That was amazing!”

“It certainly was,” Priya echoed, joining the hug. “We’re proud of you, honey.”

“Thanks,” the teen whispered. Pulling back, she held up the black leather scabbard. “Pearl gave me this for passing my trial. It’s a 19th century Indian talwar.”

“Don’t you think you have enough swords?” Priya asked. Wasn’t _one_ sword enough!?

“Mom,” the girl chuckled. “You can never have too many swords. Pearl says we may even start duel wielding next week. Doesn’t that sound awesome?”

It would be so easy to just say yes, it did sound awesome and let Connie have this moment. Priya knew that’s what Doug wanted, could see it in his eyes and his stance, but if they did that, they would be no better than Connie when she was just telling them what they wanted to hear and not what they needed to _know_.

“It sounds…” the doctor began, before sighing. “Incredibly dangerous.”

“Mom!”

“No Connie,” she interrupted. “It sounds very dangerous and very serious. I’m not saying no-” That halted any remark the teen was about to launch. “But I think we need to talk a few things over, as promised, young lady. Steven’s father mentioned a few things that I think you may have left out, however unintentional they may have been.”

“We just want to learn more and understand,” Doug said, giving her a squeeze. “This…is kinda new to us, so you gotta be patient. And you have to be open and straight with us.”

The teen struggled for words for a moment before nodding. “You’re right,” she whispered. “Okay. We should probably go outside. We can talk there.”

The three left their little huddle and headed outside. As mentioned, Greg had already set up his grill and he and Pearl were standing and discussing something, while Amethyst, the red gem, Steven, and Lapis were having fun in the water. Peridot and the blue gem were standing off to the side, watching the antics of the others. Someone had moved the deck table and chairs down to the sand below and that’s where the small family sat. “Okay,” the teen sighed. “What do you want to know?”

It stung the way Connie was still afraid to tell them things, even worse when she just instinctively felt as though whatever it was, they would immediately say no. It was a very bitter pill for Priya to swallow, knowing that her daughter didn’t even trust them enough to know she would eat junk food while at Steven’s or would sneak snacks into the movies. She and Doug had a very long discussion the night of that attack at the hospital and she thought things had been getting better.

So to discover that there were still things Connie hadn’t mentioned to them was literally like a slap in the face.

They started small – they brought up the ‘unofficial’ mission that had her face off against the very gem who was sending water balls at Steven and Amethyst further down the beach at the ocean’s edge. Connie apologized to her parents, insisting that she wasn’t trying to hide that from them, just that…there had been so much that had happened, some parts of the story ended up being lost. But she was honest – she told them how Steven had encountered Lapis in a mirror and had freed her, against the better judgement of the gems.

Lapis had then gone on to steal most of the ocean in an effort to reach Homeworld. That of course lead into the strange message she had once received about Steven and company on the verge of dying. She had told them that story, how Steven and the others had been taken aboard a ship that was headed to Homeworld, but had ended up prevailing and getting back to Earth.

“You keep mentioning this place,” Doug said. “This Homeworld. What is it?”

“And is there a chance of them returning?” asked Priya.

This was the question and topic Connie hadn’t really wanted to discuss with her parents, but they had promised to better at understanding her role in both Steven and the gems’ lives and she had promised to be honest with them. “Homeworld is where the gems are originally from,” she began. “Well, except Amethyst, but…anyway, Pearl, Garnet, and Steven’s mother were all originally from Homeworld.

“The society there is kinda brutal, totalitarian, a fantastic chaste system…they’re conquerors, so they came to Earth to conquer it. So Steven’s mom, Pearl, and Garnet turned against their own kind and…started a war to make sure Homeworld couldn’t take Earth.”

“Okay,” Doug nodded. “You’ve…mentioned some of that before. It doesn’t answer the question of if anymore gems from Homeworld will be coming back.”

Connie licked her lips in nervousness. Shrugging helplessly, she said, “I don’t know.”

“Connie,” her mother warned.

“I’m being serious,” she stated. “And honest. There’s…there’s a chance they might. Blue Diamond apparently comes to Earth to mourn the passing of Pink Diamond and none of them know that the cluster has been contained, but Steven’s afraid they might come back to get humans for the zoo or that the errant ruby has gone back and told them about the gems…”

“Stop, stop,” Priya said, shaking her head. “I don’t understand anything you’ve just said. Is this when you said Steven had been in space?”

“Yeah, when I was watching over Beach City with Lapis and Peridot.”

“You totally didn’t mention anything about diamonds and clusters and zoos,” Doug replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

“She’s mentioning it now, Doug,” the doctor said, coming to her daughter’s defense. “But clearly we’d like the _whole_ story and not the abridged version. I have a feeling we’d be here the rest of the night if we asked for the whole thing now. But you can bet this summer is going to be spent trying to decipher what you’ve just said.”

“Right,” Connie nodded.

“For the moment, however,” Priya said. “There is this matter of…what did you call it? Fusion? And this mysterious Stephanie that was mentioned at your party. You said we’d get answers and more today.”

“It’s Stevonnie.”

“What?”

“Their name,” Connie stated. “Is Stevonnie. And about fusion…”

“Connie.”

Turning, the teen was greeted by the very best savior in the world. “Sapphire!”

“I hate to interrupt,” the seer said. “But I believe Steven is looking for you.”

“Awesome! I mean…” Connie giggled, sending an apologetic look to her parents. “I should probably see what he needs. I’ll be right back!” With that, the teen shot straight out of her chair and rushed down towards the waves where the Universe boy was clearly not searching for her, though in his water play, he could certainly use her assistance.

“Connie!” Priya shouted after her. “That girl is pushing for bringing back the abacus…”

“My apologies,” the blue gem replied, turning the two’s focus back on her. She took Connie’s place in the chair, folding her hands neatly in her lap. “I don’t believe we were properly introduced. My name is Sapphire. You don’t need to introduce yourselves, I know who you are.”

“Oh,” Doug said, nodding slowly. “From Connie, right?”

“In a sense,” the blue gem replied, vaguely. “Actually, Connie asked if we could speak you. I understand you had some questions that she didn’t feel she could adequately explain.”

“You mean about fusion?” asked Priya. “Or this Stevonnie character?”

“Both.”

“Eh,” Doug piped up. “You said ‘we’. That Connie asked if ‘we’ could speak with us. Who…?”

“She’s coming.”

Sapphire turned her head to watch the scene on the beach. The children were running around wildly, while Amethyst and Lapis were splashing them with water. The red gem, who had just come from the water’s edge turned to meet the blue gem’s gaze, before expelling the water from her body and running over to the table. She skidded to a stop, right next to the chair Sapphire sat in.

“Sorry,” she giggled. “Miss anything?”

“Just you,” the seer replied, sending the standing gem a smile.

“Careful,” came the retort, as she pulled out the only other empty seat and sat down. “You know flattery gets you everywhere with me.”

“Ruby, you know Dr. and Mr. Maheswaran.”

“Not formally,” the red gem named Ruby replied. “Hi.”

“Hello,” the doctor began, slowly. Shaking her head, she said, “I’m sorry. It’s a pleasure to meet you both, of course, but I’m a little confused. Connie told us we could get answers about this…fusion business from Garnet. Do you both know her? Do you happen to know where she went?”

The reaction the two got was not what they expected – they expected the two to also wonder where Garnet was or at the very least, confirm the doctor’s suspicions that she had been called away on some sort of mission.

Instead, the two gems laughed.

“We know Garnet _very_ well,” chuckled Ruby.

“I guess you could say she was on a mission,” Sapphire added. “However, it’s nothing you’re thinking of, Doctor. Her mission is the reason the two of us are here.”

“I don’t understand.”

“ _You’re_ our mission,” Ruby stated, pointing at the two.

“Connie did mention Garnet was a fusion, did she not?”

“Yes, but…”

“Oh,” Doug mumbled. “Oh! _You’re_ Garnet!”

“What?” Priya asked, going between her husband and the two gems.

“It’s like Griffin Spheres X,” Doug replied, excitedly. “When Boot and Galen fused to become Bolen or when Richilen and Grayson become Grailen.”

“I have no idea what _any_ of that means,” Priya muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.

“Either do I,” Sapphire admitted.

“It’s that weird foreign show Connie got Amethyst into,” Ruby said.

“Really?” Doug asked. “How’d she like it?”

“Oh, she thought it was interesting,” the gem continued. “The fusion aspects are _way_ off, but the practicality of it…”

“Maybe it would be helpful,” the doctor interrupted. “If I knew what this fusion thing was. What _is_ fusion?”

“In its most basic concept,” Sapphire replied. “Fusion is the joining of two or more gems into a singular entity.”

“But how is that possible?” Priya asked. “Two people can’t turn into one person. That goes against biology.”

“For humans, maybe,” Ruby countered. “Not for gems.”

“Steven is of course the exception to the rule,” Sapphire added. “Though we should get to that later. For gems, the process is simple – you need a gem at the core of your being, then a body that can turn into light, and lastly, you need a partner who you can trust with that light.”

Both parents looked at Sapphire in confusion.

“You’re losing them,” Ruby whispered, leaning over slightly.

“The point being,” the blue gem condensed. “Is gems are able to fuse together, creating that singular individual. For example, you’ve met Alexandrite, our fusion with Pearl and Amethyst.”

“Hoo boy, that was a big mistake.”

“True,” the seer responded, giggling as she did. “And completely against our set rules for using fusion, but you’ll soon find that there is very little we won’t do if Steven asks it of us.”

“So…” the doctor began. This was all so fantastical! How could two people turn into one? Is this what Connie and Steven were doing? “Can any gem just fuse with anyone?”

The two smaller gems looked at each other in uneasy silence. “It’s…that’s…” Ruby stammered.

“A rather loaded question,” the blue gem stated.

“Why?” Priyanka could tell there was something the two were uncomfortable with and if they, a supposed fusion themselves were uncomfortable with an aspect of this fusion, why would Connie think that she and Doug would be comfortable with it?

Again, the two gems looked at each other before the one known as Ruby leaned forward. “There’s something you should understand about fusion,” she began. “Back on Homeworld, the ability to fuse was only relegated to same type gems. Basically, you could have two or three or four rubies fuse and it would be one giant ruby. A…me, but bigger.

“And fusion was only a means to an end, meaning it was only used to fight off threats. So, for instance…if you’re in a war and you’re trying to fight back against your opponent, you grab two or three jaspers to get the job done.

“What’s _not_ tolerable is when gems of different types fuse,” she continued. “Mixed gem fusions are seen as…unbelievable, unheard of, and…disgusting. It introduces…ideas, you know? Differing ideas…you can’t have that in a society that’s orderly and…”

“Fusing with a gem that is not your same gem type is…was a punishable offense,” Sapphire stated. “When Ruby and I fused the first time, we would’ve been shattered if we hadn’t fled to Earth.”

“ _I_ would’ve been shattered,” Ruby amended.

“And _I_ wasn’t about to allow that.”

“So…fusion is only to be used in…military situations?” Doug asked and almost immediately regretted it with the smoldering look Ruby sent him.

“Ruby, you know he didn’t mean it like that.”

“Right,” the red gem said, the tension in her shoulders relaxing. “Sorry.”

“I take it that…your fusion is something that would be…intolerable,” Priyanka said.

“You are correct,” Sapphire replied. “Essentially, Rose Quartz felt that fusions were…an extension of two or more gems.”

“An experience,” Ruby said, glancing at the blue gem.

“I can see that,” Priyanka noted, seeing how the two gems looked at each other. She may not have understood gem culture, but it wouldn’t have taken a genius to see that the two were obviously romantically involved.

“So,” Doug piped up. “You said you need to have a gem at the core of your being and the trust of a partner? That’s what I don’t understand. Connie is human; she doesn’t have a gem and apparently she and Steven are…fusing into this Steveney person…”

“Stevonnie,” the two gems corrected.

“Right,” the guard amended. “Stevonnie. Who is this? And why exactly is Steven fusing with my thirteen-year-old daughter?”

“I did mention that Steven is an…exception,” Sapphire answered. “Steven is the first of his kind – half gem and half human. We certainly never thought that would be a possibility, so of course when Stevonnie walked through the door…”

“It threw us for a loop,” Ruby finished, though there was a huge grin on her face. “A surprising one, but a loop none the less.”

“So you allowed them…to…to…continue?” the doctor asked.

“Of course,” the red gem replied. “Why wouldn’t we?”

“Because it’s very inappropriate,” Priya responded. “They’re children and children often times don’t know the difference between what is and isn't suitable for them.”

“I don’t know what age gems start to fuse,” Doug added. “But, well, humans have a rather…set age for when…fusing is acceptable and I’m sorry, but fourteen and thirteen are _not_ those ages!”

“I believe you are misinterpreting the actual concept and process of fusion,” the diplomatic gem replied, a frown marring her face. Connie had tried to warn them and certainly Garnet had foreseen that the Indian couple might be misinformed about how fusion related between gems and humans, but knowing theory and putting it in reality are two separate things.

“It’s not like that!” Ruby exclaimed.

“Then the two of you aren’t…?”

The red gem huffed, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. “Well,” she said. “Of course we are.”

“We can be painfully obvious,” Sapphire supplied.

“Told you to tone it down.”

“Hush,” the seer said, before turning back to the two. “Ruby and I are an…exception. Yes, our relationship is romantic in nature, however that does not mean that all fusions are. As I said, the key to having a successful and stable fusion is the trust each person puts in to it. Ruby and I trust each other implicitly and that’s why we have and will continue to be Garnet for another seven thousand years.”

The Maheswarans couldn’t hide their surprise – they barely knew other couples who have been together seven months, much less seven years and here before them was a couple who had managed to survive the common hardships of love for several millennia.

“Is that…important?” Priya asked, unsure. “Stability? You mentioned that trust is a core part of making sure a fusion is stable. Are there unstable fusions?”

Again, the two gems glanced at each other. “Would you like to explain, or shall I?” Sapphire asked. Ruby gestured for her to take the floor, sending her a knowing smirk as she did. Looking back at Connie’s parents, she nodded.

“Yes,” she said. “Having a stable fusion is key in ensuring that it doesn’t just fall apart as soon as you fuse. In most cases, differing personalities or opinions can cause a fusion to break apart. That’s…the simplest of explanations. There are more…darker aspects to it.”

“Such as?” Doug asked, his face trying to mask his unease.

“Gems should always fuse with someone they trust, someone they feel they’re close to,” the seer continued. “Hence why we were able to form Alexandrite to meet you the first time. However, as you saw, Pearl and Amethyst have…differing opinions on actually eating dinner, which is why we _unfused_. The reason we were able to fuse again was because of the shared fear and determination on stopping Connie and Steven from leaving town.

“There are cases where…gems have fused with someone they _don’t_ trust. And it was as big of a problem as you can imagine. It was absolutely ill-advised, even if done from a good place.”

“Fusions are their own person,” Ruby picked up. “They share traits between the gems that form them, but they have their own personalities, thoughts, movements…you understand. But…there has been a case in which a fusion…refused to let go.”

“Let go?” Priya asked.

“Unfuse,” Sapphire replied. “Sometimes unstable fusions are unstable because the gems who make them up…lose themselves. That causes the fusion to…lose all rationality.”

Neither gem happened to mention that the unstable fusion they were discribing happened to be a fusion they were separate parts of; bad enough they had to hurt Amethyst's feelings by benching Sugilite indefinitely, even now they - including Garnet - were very wary about forming her again.

“Unstable fusions,” the doctor sighed. “I’ll be honest, this is doing nothing to change my opinion about Connie doing this with Steven.”

“Stevonnie is the most stable fusion we’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing,” said Sapphire. “Most fusions can be extremely stable, but as with anything, there is always an exception to the rule.”

“What about those gem experiments?” Priya asked.

“That’s not the same thing,” Ruby stated, her tone turning from the otherwise warmer inflections from earlier.

“Isn’t it?” the doctor questioned. “Connie mentioned they were gems that were fused together, isn’t that _exactly_ the same thing?”

“It is _not_!”

To say that Doug and Priya were taken aback by the sudden change in manner would be an understatement. While they had just met the two new gems, they had seemed personable and friendly; now, however…

Ruby had quickly stood from her chair, knocking it to the beach sand below, and despite being nearly half the height of either parent, she gave off an intimidating aura. Though it was probably because she seemed to be putting a large amount of heat to the point both Maheswarans felt as though their faces were sat in front of a raging fire.

“That wasn’t fusion,” Ruby growled. “They were _forced_ to fuse. Fusion is a _choice_ and those gems weren’t _given_ that choice. You want to know how Homeworld views fusion? Look no further than those experiments. _That’s_ what would’ve happened to us and _that’s_ what happened to thousands of _our friends_ who dared to stand up against them.”

“Ruby.”

This had been a possibility, but one Sapphire had hoped wouldn’t come to pass. Speaking on what they had seen under the Kindergarten was hard enough, they didn’t need to be reminded that they had managed to allow some of those…things escape; and unfortunately, they would have a run in with Connie’s mother before she was truly ready to understand everything her daughter was a part of.

However, in the vision the seer had seen, it had not led to this – Ruby’s swirling emotions spilling outward, the Maheswarans’ look of fear as the red gem raged at the duplicity and cruelty of Homeworld, and the warmth under her hand on Ruby’s back as she tried to calm her.

Once again, the hot-tempered gem had managed to change something she had previously foreseen.

“Ruby,” she tried again, this time getting the gem’s fiery attention.

“You’re going to burn your hand,” she growled, crossing her arms in defiance and looking away from the group.

“No I won’t,” Sapphire said, confidently, rubbing the gem’s back in a soothing manner. To the Indian couple, she replied, “As you can see, Ruby and I take fusion _very_ seriously. Not just in its practice, but its misuse and that’s why you should have no concerns in regard to Steven, Connie, _or_ Stevonnie; they are very aware of how sacred the act of fusing is.”

Ruby took a breath before turning back to the couple. “Sorry,” she said, sheepishly.

“No,” Priya replied. “No, I’m…I apologize. I didn’t mean to sound so callous. And I should know better; as a doctor, sometimes I have the unfortunate task to tell someone that we couldn’t save their loved one. It should have occurred to me that those gems…well, they _used_ to be gems.”

“Yeah.”

“I…” Doug began before clearing his throat. They probably should table the conversation and let tempers settle, but it looked as though Ruby had gotten a hold of herself and it was just a reaction to something that was not only troubling for Priya to go through, but the smaller gem as well.

“Our apologies,” Sapphire replied. “As mentioned, we are very…passionate about fusion, for obvious reasons. You had a question, Mr. Maheswaran.”

“I…oh, I did,” he chuckled. “Well it’s just…” he sent a look to Priya.

“Is there a possibility that the children could…well, get stuck in a fusion?” she asked. “You said they were stable, but you also said it was possible for fusions to fall apart because of differences and that fusions are capable of forming their own personalities. Is there ever a case where…an argument or…”

“Actually,” Doug interrupted. “I had a different question.”

“You want to know why Ruby and I stay fused.”

Priya jerked her head to look at her husband. “Doug!” While she knew this was a delicate topic and was something they needed to know and understand, but it didn’t mean they had to be rude. They already had one misstep.

“It is a logical question,” Sapphire replied.

Ruby shrugged. “Why are the two of you married?” she asked.

Copying the previous gesture by the good doctor, the seer swerved her head to glare at her partner. “Ruby!”

“Good point,” Doug piped up, causing Ruby to nod her thanks.

“First things first,” the red gem continued. “To answer your first question, no. Despite one rogue fusion, no gem – or half gem – has ever gotten ‘stuck’ as a fusion. Fusions can be forcibly split apart; it’s a last resort. Well, it is if you’re us; if you’re from Homeworld, it’s the first thing you do.”

“Quid pro quo then,” Doug said. “I guess in the whole scheme of things, you don’t have to be married; there certainly seems to be the growing trend amongst young people now. But for us, it was part tradition, but mostly because we wanted to tell everyone we loved each other.” Gazing at his wife, he said, “I like to think we make a good team.”

“You’re better together,” Ruby supplied. “That’s like me and Sapphire; we’re stronger together and we’re better together by being Garnet. That’s…why you need to trust your partner because when you fuse, you’re closer than you could ever possibly be then when you’re not.”

“And…” Priya began. “You think Connie and Steven are better together when they’re this Stevonnie person?”

“We think Stevonnie’s awesome, of course,” the red gem replied.

Sapphire nodded. "We have only seen good things with them," she added. "They're still young, but they're learning."

"Besides," Ruby said, giving the two a look. "You've seen the same thing we have."

Priya knew what they meant. Steven and Connie weren't exactly shy about their closeness with one another and they had already heard from a few neighbors remarking on the 'nice boy Connie had for a boyfriend'. “Would they…would they become a permanent fusion? Like you?”

“That’s not for us to say,” Ruby said. “Steven and Connie _choose_ to fuse and if they decide they want to be Stevonnie, it would be _their_ decision. Not ours.”

It was on the tip of Priyanka’s tongue to state that the young teens weren’t able to make that choice and that teenagers were prone to emulate others, but she wisely kept her mouth shut. Making decisions for Connie was the whole reason she hadn’t been honest with them in the first place – they had planned out her life and she had, for the most part, followed the schedule they set for her.

Their daughter had spent the better part of a year – and who knew how many others – hiding her secret life of gem missions, sword training, magical lions, and more. Hadn’t Greg mentioned what could happen if they were to go back to those times, especially now? To be honest, the doctor had always felt uneasy when a colleague or a patient mentioned having their child quit something to do something else.

Quietly, she judged them, feeling as though they weren’t being stern enough if they would allow their child to quit something, however it soon became apparent that these parents were doing what she and Doug weren’t – allowing their child to choose what would give _them_ pleasure or what _they_ would enjoy instead of forcing them into something they didn’t like.

“Thank you,” she said instead. “I’m sure we’ll have many more questions, but…thank you for helping us to understand things a little better.”

“Certainly!”

“You are of course more than welcomed to ask Garnet any further questions,” Sapphire said. “And I know Connie will be happy to have your support in this.”

“We love our swashbuckling heroine,” Doug said, pride very clear in his voice. He may have been worried for her – what father wouldn’t be? – but he had seen what his daughter could do and it was still frightening, but it was what Connie wanted to do and she was frightfully good at it.

“Speaking of Garnet...” Sapphire stood from her chair and turned towards her partner. “I believe you owe me a dance.”

Raising an eyebrow, Ruby asked, “Do we need one?”

“Well,” the seer smirked. “We have an audience, so why not give them a show?”

Ruby matched her smirk with one of her own, accompanied by a slight chuckle.

“Are you going to do a fusion dance?” Doug asked, excitedly. He’d seen it on GSX any time one of the X fighters needed to do battle with a foe; he had to force those thoughts from his head however, remembering the look the smaller red gem had given him when he mentioned using fusion as a war technique. And besides, there was a difference between what one saw in cartoons and what happened in reality.

“Is that a necessary requirement?” asked Priyanka. “You need to dance before you fuse?”

“It can help,” Ruby mentioned. “But not everyone needs to dance.”

Holding out her hand, she smiled when Sapphire took it and laughed when the seer pulled her forward. It was only a second before the Maheswarans saw a burst of light and instead of there being Ruby and Sapphire, there was the tall figure of Garnet.

“Howdy,” she said, giving the two a smile.

“Whoa,” Doug breathed, his eyes wide in awe and surprise. “We need to come over more often.”

If someone had described this scene to Priya, she would’ve dismissed them, much in the same way she would have dismissed the notion of Connie not going to summer school or devoting her summer to hunting and capturing corrupted gems around the world. But she had seen it with her own eyes – where there had once been two gems, there was now one.

She had seen a similar scene earlier in their acquaintance, when one giant woman turned into three smaller ones and then back again. In the aftermath, she had really only been thinking about Connie’s reckless behavior in running off, that the very notion of gems fusing and everything that would follow wouldn’t even register on her radar until it was literally in her hospital and chasing her down the hallways.

Speaking to Garnet seemed to be easier than speaking to her composites – Ruby’s seemingly explosive temper and the veiled appearance of Sapphire, not to mention the uncanny way she was able to interpret their questions before they had asked, made the singular gem just…a simple way of hopefully handling things.

Their conversation continued from the previous one, with the fusion adding a bit more to the conversation. Doug and Priya still had many questions – what happened on Homeworld? Why did those gems target Earth? What happened with the gem experiments? How did those gems become forcibly fused? Why would Homeworld still target the Earth? Shouldn’t they contact the government for protection? Did the government even _know_ about the gems? – but they were hoping Connie could shed some light on the minor ones.

There was one thing for sure – this was more than they had ever imagined. They had just thought Connie was taking some fencing classes or that these missions were scouting at best, but again they had been completely broadsided and overwhelmed.

“I know you’re both worried,” Garnet replied, seeing the way the two seemed to reconsider everything that had happened. “I can understand that. I see so many ways in which Steven can get hurt and that’s why I do everything I can to make sure those possibilities are just that – possibilities. Never realities.

“But even when I think I have everything in hand, Steven manages to surprise me. I’m sure Connie does the same with you.”

At that, Priya couldn’t help but chuckle. “Surprise us?” she asked. “I think learning that my daughter is some…sword wielding…adventurer is way above the call of surprising.” Turning her head, the doctor could see Connie in the sand, apparently doing an impromptu training session with Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst.

Watching her daughter as she went through the motions brought her back to watching Connie go through her trials. A while ago, Priya may not have wanted to admit that she didn’t know who this new person was, this stranger that was one person with them and someone else with Steven and his family. She had been surprised by this new Connie – strong, confident, able bodied…

She found that she wanted to know who this person was.

“Can you promise us that you can keep her safe?” she asked.

“No.”

Doug and Priya looked at her in shock.

“I can’t promise to keep her safe,” the gem repeated. “Because what we encounter and what we _might_ encounter could put _everyone_ in danger. I _can_ promise that I, Pearl, Amethyst, and Steven will make sure to do everything we can to keep Connie in one piece. And I know Peridot and Lapis – and Lion – will take that oath without question.”

“That’s…that’s actually a good compromise,” Doug said, nodding. Glancing at Priya, he knew she didn’t like it – she wanted guarantees. The guarantee that no matter what the danger, Connie would be safe and he was fairly sure her idea of safe meant keeping the teen _as far away_ from _any_ danger, period.

Feeling her job done, Garnet stood and turned, but stopped when a vision filtered through her mind. Turning back to the Maheswarans, she said, “You’ll want to extend Connie’s curfew. Not now, but probably during the fall semester. It’ll make things easier.”

“What things exactly?” asked the doctor.

The fusion shrugged. “Just a heads up.” And with that, she walked away, leaving the couple confused.

“What did that mean?” Priya asked, looking at her husband.

“If there’s one thing this experience has taught me,” Doug replied. “Is to just take their word for it and move on.”

The doctor sighed, her eyes once again straying to her daughter. “Are we really going to let her do this?”

“She’s good at this, Priya,” he told her. “You saw her, this…I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so happy doing something that wasn’t reading.”

“She’s just a child.”

“She won’t always be,” the guard sighed. He clearly remembered just how many teen boys were at her birthday party and if there was a way to go back in time when Connie still though boys were icky and full of cooties, he’d take it in a heartbeat.

“I’m still not sure about this fusion thing,” she huffed. Holding up a hand, she continued with, “I know you’re enamored with it, but I’ll remind you that you weren’t so happy when she mentioned she was fusing with _Steven_.”

Doug meant her huff with his own. “I guess will have to just have to wait that out.”

The doctor shook her head. "She's right though," she whispered. "I'm sure they all see what we see and they aren't the least bit concerned by it."

"That's cause _they_ don't have a teenage daughter."

"No," Priya smirked. "But they do have a teenage _son_ and I think if it was anyone but Connie, that girl wouldn't stand a chance with them or against them."

The couple continued to watch their daughter and when the sun started to go down, they left the strangeness of gems for the moment. On the way home, the three discussed more, but plans were made to just enjoy the summer as a family, something they hadn’t done in quite some time. Doug even made the wild suggestion they invite Steven to dinner sometime that summer.

With any luck, they’d be having a slow and uneventful summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> References littered in here -
> 
> Griffin Spheres X is blatantly the SU version of Dragonball Z. DBZ fans, you should be able to recognize the character counterparts mentioned (if not, send me a note and I'll tell you).
> 
> Ruby and Sapphire's response on fusion being a sexual concept is a fan favorite and, as you could probably see, something I disagree with. I believe that yes, if you're in a romantic relationship (like our two favorite gems or Rose and Greg), you could make the parallels, but fusion has always been displayed as being something between people that you trust, which in our case includes family and friends.
> 
> Lastly, how to pronounce Stevonnie's name. Head over to YouTube and watch Watch Mojo's Top 10 Steven Universe episodes (which really only covers the first two seasons, which is weird because it was posted last week). I kid you not, the presenter called Stevonnie "Steveney", despite the fact that the episode they slated "Alone Together" has their name mentioned at least three times.
> 
> Commenters all agreed this clearly shows no one at Watch Mojo actually _watches_ anything they review. That was a jab I felt needed to be done.


End file.
